


Just Like New

by Piano



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, M/M, Mechanic!Zack, Robot!Cloud, Robot/Human Relationships, robot!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2018-04-12 08:57:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 74,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4473194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piano/pseuds/Piano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zack, a mechanic apprentice, finds a broken and discarded robot in the scrap pile he has no choice but to take it home and fix it. But was that really such a good idea?</p><p>Based on tinyjing's Robot Cloud AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gear One

**Author's Note:**

> Now that I finally finished After I Took His Hand I can work one a fic I'd been wanting to do ever since I saw tinyjing's Robot!AU art! Follow tinyjing here if you'd like to see where the inspiration for this fic came from: http://tinyjing.tumblr.com/
> 
> Speaking of tumblr, you can find me on there too under the name Pianoslave.

Midgar was one of the biggest, busiest cities in the world, if not **the** biggest. What had once been a small town in the middle of nowhere had quickly morphed into a bustling neon-green metropolis thanks to its focus on advancing its technology at the expense of everything else. Namely, its focus on robotics and artificial intelligence software.  
Engineers from all over the world flocked to the city in hopes of being hired by the government’s robotics department or starting a mechanic shop of their own. That was what brought Zack Fair, a country boy with a head full of ideas but a pocket empty of cash to the city.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to do it, but he was definitely going to become the No. 1 robotics mechanic in the world.

It was that sense of enthusiasm and determination that led him to a small mechanic workshop in the more run-down section of town. It was one of the hidden gems of Midgar, run by a tough but gentle-hearted man named Angeal. Although he at first insisted that he wasn’t taking any apprentices, the next day Zack was working alongside him. 

“He’s just a kid and he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Once he has somewhere else he can stay, he’ll be leaving.” Angeal had insisted to his colleagues in town. They hadn’t believed him for one second.

Four years later, an 18-year-old boy with a bright smile and scars covering his arms was still working in the shop, apprenticed to an (at first) reluctant master and living in a small makeshift apartment above the workshop. Angeal lived in a house behind his shop and when his apprentice wasn’t working late nights on one of his own projects he could usually be found there, having a home-cooked meal that Zack insisted was better than his mother’s cooking.

Angeal would always tell Zack to stop kidding around but, on the inside, it made him happy.

“Zack, make sure to **actually** turn all the equipment after you finish up this time.” Angeal called as he made his way towards the door. “Last night the rotary drill was running for hours by itself. You know what kind of electric bill we already have to pay, don’t you?”

Zack’s face was bathed in light as he lit the blow torch on one of his latest projects, finally pushing up his goggles to his forehead when he finished. “Aw come on Angeal, have a little faith in me, would you? I’m not staying up too late this time.”

Angeal raised a brow. “Oh? Going to the scrap yard again?”

Zack stood up, dusting some soot off of his work pants. “Yup! Thursday’s the day they always get spare parts from the big government factory in town, so that’s definitely the time to strike.” Zack did a little fistpump for emphasis and Angeal rolled his eyes with an amused smile.

“All right, Zack. Just remember to actually work on client projects in between all these extra things you’re fixing.”

“Of course! I’m totally on it!” Zack shouted with a salute then slung a duffle back over his shoulder.

Angel couldn’t stop a soft chuckle from escaping as he held the door open to let his apprentice run out. “All right. See you tomorrow, Zack”

Zack turned around, running backwards for a few steps as he waved. “See ya, Angeal!” He turned just in time to avoid running into a few pedestrians, hopping out of the way and then continuing to run down the street.

The junk yard was about a 15 minute walk, or 5 minute run in Zack’s case. It also took him right by his best friend Kunsel’s apartment, who happened to be walking out of the building’s door right as Zack ran by and called out to him.

“Hey! What’s the hurry, Zack?”

Zack stopped immediately, going up to Kunsel and jogging in place for a few seconds before finally coming to a standstill. “Hey, Kunsel! You wanna come with me to the scrap yard? There might be some good stuff there today!”

Kunsel gave him a flat look. “You’re just asking me to come so I can help you carry more stuff, aren’t you?”

“Aw come on, that’s not the **only** reason.” Zack grinned innocently. “Don’t you like to take the parts the guys upstairs throw out and fix ‘em up yourself?”

“That’s what **you** like doing, Zack. But…” Kunsel scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. “I am kinda curious about something.”

“Oh?” Zack leaned forward curiously. “What is it?”

“Well—” Kunsel straightened up, getting a more serious expression on his face that made Zack even more interested. Unlike him, Kunsel worked in one of the government robotics departments. He wasn’t involved in a lot of the high level research or development but he would somehow find out any of the latest gossip that was heading through the grapevine.

“I am kind of curious. It seemed like they were being kind of secretive about something last week, like there were more armed guards around the research department doors than usual.”

“Huh.” Zack folded his arms. “Maybe they’re working on a giant robot tank or something and don’t want people to see.”

“Maybe.” Kunsel replied thoughtfully, though it looked like he wasn’t completely focused on the conversation. Zack tilted his head curiously but Kunsel didn’t elaborate any further. “Anyway, we should probably hurry. I heard a big storm’s going to roll in tonight.”

“What?! Well come on then, jeeze! We don’t have time to stand around all day!” Zack flailed, quickly turning and heading off again, quickly followed by Kunsel.

The streets of Midgar were crowded with people, both rich and poor, as they rushed to get home from work or out to the bars and clubs that littered the slums. It wasn’t just people that filled the streets, though. Robots of all shapes and sizes, some with wheels and some hovering above the crowd, were zipping to and from their various errands delivering packages or messages between friends. There were even animal shaped ones, though those were mostly owned by children as a “first robot” type of present.

Every once in a while, Zack would spot one that looked eerily human except for two things: instead of ears, they had metal coverings that attached to a metal band that ran across the top of their head and their feet were obviously pieces of metal crafted into vaguely boot-looking shapes.

“It’s kind of creepy, isn’t it?” Kunsel muttered from behind him.

“Huh?” Zack glanced back at him. “What is?”

“The humanoid robot models.” Kunsel replied, emphasizing with a quick gesture at one with silver shoulder-length hair walking side by side with his human master, a hunched-over man with glasses and slicked back hair. “I mean…I know that was the point, but they really look **too** human, don’t they?”

Zack shrugged good naturedly. “I dunno about that. I think it’s pretty cool, you know? It’s just too bad you really have to be rich to afford one of ‘em.” He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m pretty sure the customers we have would have to sell off their houses about three times over to get one.”

“I guess so. The receptionists in the main office just got converted to human models and they’ve seemed pretty harmless so far.”

“Exactly! Man…” Zack glanced up at the sky, watching as dark gray clouds began to roll in. “I’d really give anything to be able to work on one of those.”

“Hey!” Kunsel walked up next to Zack, lightly tapping him on the head. “Quit daydreaming and let’s go.”

Zack quickly shook his head then grinned. “Right.”

*** 

“Man, it’s really some slim pickings today.” Zack kicked a loose gear down the hill of assorted pieces of metal, electronics and circuits. “I’m starting to feel like today’s gonna be a bust.”

“We probably should be going pretty soon anyway, Zack.” Kunsel called from a few feet away, pocketing a few of the semi-functional circuitboards he found. “It’s gonna start pouring any second.”

Zack slumped a little, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, okay.” He turned and began to walk down towards the entrance. “Man, I had such a good feeling about today too. I really felt like—”

Suddenly, Zack stopped in his tracks as something in the distance caught his eye. Kunsel stopped as well, looking at Zack with a curious expression. “Like…what?” When Zack didn’t respond, Kunsel began to look a bit concerned. “Hey, what’s wrong? Zack—Hey!” Suddenly Zack was off like a shot, running over to the next pile of scrap metal and junk without another word. “Zack!” Kunsel called, quickly running over to join him just as Zack squatted down and began to dig through the pile.

“I thought I saw something in here! It kind of looked like a- Holy shit!” Zack jumped back a little, revealing a very human-looking hand sticking out of the pile of robot scrap.

“Is that a…hand?!” Kunsel looked about ready to bolt but didn’t want to leave Zack alone in a scrap heap with a possibly dead body. “That’s not, right?”

“Here, help me pull it out! Maybe it’s a part from one of those humanoid models!” Zack’s shock had done a 180 to pure excitement as he reached for the hand and began to tug. Kunsel reluctantly grabbed Zack around the waist and began to help pull. “Damn, this thing weighs a ton! Come on, Kunsel help me pull a lil more and- There we go!” With one last tug, the arm was followed by a shoulder, connected to a torso and then an entire body. Zack let go once the entire thing was out of the pile, stumbling back a little and nearly knocking Kunsel over.

The both of them stared in silence as thunder began to rumble overhead. Even as the rain slowly began to drip down, neither of them said a word about leaving.

“That’s…” Kunsel started but then just trailed off, unable to formulate any other words as he stared.

“A humanoid model…” Zack finished for him, his eyes practically shining in excitement as his grin widened even further. “Holy shit, Kunsel, just look at him!” Zack kneeled down by the robot, lifting up head a little to examine it more thoroughly.

“Him…?” Kunsel questioned, avoiding getting too close to it. 

“Well, duh, he’s obviously a guy!” Zack began to look over his face, arms, neck and everywhere else. Kunsel looked worried the robot might jump up any moment but it had its’ eyes closed and didn’t react at all as Zack poked and prodded. “Man, look at him though, he’s all scratched up and dirty…How long do you think he was in here?” Zack lifted one of the robot’s ear caps off, grimacing at the mess of tangled and broken wires. “Jeeze, someone really did a number on the circuitry here…”

Kunsel crouched down next to Zack, his curiosity having gotten the better of him. “It looks like whoever it was, they were trying to break him on purpose…”

Zack took a better look at the robot. His blonde, spiky hair was surprisingly soft to the touch, as was the synthetic skin along his face. Oddly, there were two dark stripes on either side of his face that, when Zack brushed a hand along them, were cold and felt like metal. The clothes that he was wearing looked off as well, like there were parts of his outfit missing. No one would really just put a black zip-up bodysuit and gloves on a robot like this, right? Then again, Zack didn’t know anyone that would leave something this expensive so completely broken, scratched and dirty in the middle of the scrap yard.

“I knew it…” Zack looked to Kunsel with a bright smile. “I knew I had a good feeling about today.”

Kunsel blinked a few times, looking even more confused as Zack looped his arms around the robot’s waist and began to stand. “Zack, the hell are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” The wheels in Zack’s head were obviously turning as he began to look more and more enthusiastic. “I’m taking him home and fixing him!” Kunsel’s jaw dropped, speechless for a few seconds as Zack struggled to pick the robot up. “Damn, he’s heavy! Here, Kunsel, help me get him on my back at least—”

“You’re going to… **what**?!” Despite his shock he still moved to help Zack get the robot on his back, if for no other reason than it was beginning to really pour and the sooner they got out of this area the better. “Zack, you don’t even know where he’s from or what he was built for! What if you’re stealing? What if someone calls the cops when they see you dragging this thing around…?!”

“No one’s gonna call the cops, Kunsel. No one’s gonna be outside in this weather anyway!” Zack shifted the robot a bit, moving his hands underneath his metal legs with a grunt. “Damn, I’ve really got my work cut out for me today…” Zack began to walk as fast as possible, which ended being up not being much faster than a light stroll and getting utterly soaked as he went. Kunsel followed after him, nervously glancing around for any soldier or police officer that might suddenly pop out from behind a building. “Besides! He was on public property and it’s my right to pick him up and fix him.”

“You’re seriously crazy, you know that?” 

Eventually, the robot became too heavy for Zack to carry all the way back to his shop by himself and Kunsel was goaded into helping. With the both of them each supporting one of the robot’s arms, they were somehow able to successfully half-carry and half-drag him back to Zack’s shop. The both of them looked like a pair of drowned rats by the time they finally got inside.

“Whew, made it…Okay, Kunsel, let’s set him right down here by my work station- Ah damn, be careful man!” He exclaimed as Kunsel nearly dropped him onto the floor.

“What are you worried about? He’s already broken and probably half-rusted at this point.” Kunsel muttered but still helped to set him gently next to all of Zack’s tools.

“Well yeah but I don’t want you to break him **more**.” Zack took one look at the robot then to his tools then clapped his hands together. “All right, here we go! One robot repair, coming right up.” Zack pulled his goggles down from his head and over his eyes then reached into his back pocket, grabbing his gloves and pulling them on.

“Zack, do you even have any idea how to fix a humanoid model?” Kunsel questioned, leaning against the wall and watching as Zack took a seat on his work bench and began to inspect the robot’s face and head. 

“No idea!” Zack replied enthusiastically. “But it can’t be too different from any other model I’ve fixed, right?”

There was a long pause between them before Kunsel finally answered. “…Stay here and don’t do anything dumb. I’m gonna go do some research.” He turned and quickly ran out the door and back into the rain, knowing that despite his warning Zack was most likely going to keep going at trying to fix it. If nothing else, he hoped that he would be able to get some useful information before Zack blew himself and half of the neighborhood up.

“Pft! Who does he think I am?” Zack looked back at the robot, who still had his eyes closed and seemed as lifeless as ever. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Without thinking, he leaned a hand over and gently ruffled the robot’s hair. “We’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

Zack removed the robot’s ear caps again, grimacing when he was able to take a better look at the completely fried circuit boards and plugs. “Okay, maybe this will take a little longer than I thought.” After a moment he grinned determinedly, rolling up his still-soaked sleeves before reaching for his cautery tools. “Well, we’re getting this done come hell or high water! I’m always up for a challenge, that’s for sure.”

A “challenge” was probably a light way of putting it. Half of the robot’s charging plugs had to be replaced and the circuitry was such a fried mess that Zack ended up having to replace some of the wires with ones that he had acquired from his previous trips to the scrap yard.

“There…” Zack wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced towards the window, having just finished polishing the metal portions of the robot’s legs. The sun had just come up, meaning that he had stayed up all night with the robot. “Man, I really had to improvise for some of that but I think that just might work!” Zack stood up, though he was a little wobbly from sitting hunched over for hours on end, he looked just as energetic as ever. 

“All right, now for the moment of truth!” Zack stretched his arms a little then reached down to plug four cords into each of the robot’s ear pieces. Each cord connected to a longer extension set, which were all plugged into every electrical outlet that Zack could find in the shop. Zack stood expectantly then frowned lightly when nothing happened. Even after about a minute the robot was as still and lifeless as ever.

“What?” Zack scratched his head, frowning in confusion. “What’s the deal? I seriously thought that would be it…” Zack crouched down again, digging around the wires and plugs in the robot’s ear pieces. “Damn, is there something I missed?” He dug his fingers further in, pausing when he felt a switch he hadn’t spotted before. “The hell…?” Without thinking, he flipped it. Within a few seconds the robot gave a jolt and the whirring and clicking of his machinery could be heard.

Zack’s eyes widened. “Woah…” The moment was interrupted as the lights began to flicker and all of the machinery began to turn on, then back off again. The whirring from the robot intensified, as did the flickering of the lights and every electrical appliance in the building.

“Oh shit…!” Zack stood up, at a loss of what to try and turn off or fix. All of the equipment began to go haywire, each tool turning up to the highest intensity. Only now did Zack start to wonder if he should have waited for Angeal to get back before starting this.

“Shit, shit, shit, Angeal’s seriously gonna kill me!” Before Zack could panic any more, the entire building went dark. After all of the electrical haywire from before the silence was definitely…eerie.

“Damn, where was that circuit breaker—Ow! Okay, maybe I should clean up my stuff more but seriously…aha!” After stumbling around in the dark for a few seconds Zack finally found it and with a switch the lights slowly began to come back on. “There we go. Well at least—” Zack froze when his gaze fell upon the previously-lifeless robot.

He was still leaning against the wall but, instead of being slumped over, was sitting up and slowly looking around.

“It worked…” Zack whispered, his hands combing through his hair. “It worked, it actually worked…?!” He suddenly began to laugh and ran over to the robot, who looked startled as Zack crouched down next to him. “You’re awake! Holy crap wait until Angeal sees this!” He grinned happily, looking into the robot’s bright blue eyes. 

_Is it just my imagination or are they kind of…glowing?_

“I can’t believe this, I can’t believe it actually worked! There’s no way…!” Zack shoved his goggles off of his eyes and back on his head so he could take a better look at the robot, who was staring at him with a dazed, confused expression. “Ok, let’s see how well I fixed your legs. Can you stand up?”

Slowly the robot looked down at his legs, then back at Zack before he slowly pushed himself up off the ground. He seemed stable for a moment but then flailed slightly as he began to lose balance. “Woah, woah, woah!” Zack quickly stood up and caught him around the waist, grunting slightly at the weight as he helped him sit back down. “Okay, maybe have to do a few adjustments in a little bit- Ah ah, hey!” The robot had put his hands on one of the wires sticking out of his head and had begun to tug slightly. “Don’t pull those out yet! I’m pretty sure you’re not anywhere close to being fully charged, especially with the power going on and off like that.” Zack placed his hand over the robot’s and gently pulled it away. “Anyway…my name’s Zack.”

The robot looked from Zack’s hand to his then back at his face. Zack began to wonder if he needed to adjust the robot’s hearing but after a few more seconds the robot opened his mouth and repeated slowly. “Z…ack…?”

“That’s right!” Zack grinned happily and sat down in front of the robot, leg’s crossed. “So you can talk, huh? I was starting to get worried there for a second.”

The robot blinked a few times then glanced around the shop quietly. Zack frowned lightly. “Well maybe we’re gonna have to work on more talking later. Do you have a name, or anything?” Zack wasn’t quite sure how it worked with humanoid models. There was no reason for them not to have a name, right? Although the government didn’t tend to name their robots, a lot of his customers named the ones they owned. 

The robot looked back at Zack, his mouth turned into a slight frown as he shook his head. “You…don’t know?” The robot nodded. “Huh, well…I guess I’ll think of something! Now, what to call you…”

“Zack!?” Angeal’s voice interrupted his train of thought and he quickly stood up to see Angeal standing in the doorway, his face pale. “Zack, what’s going on? The entire block was out of power and—” He froze once his eyes rested on the robot who was staring up with wide eyes and seemed to be trying to hide behind Zack. “What…is that?”

“Oh! Heh…” Zack scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, you see, I kind of…”

“Zack!” Kunsel ran to the door, nearly running into Angeal as he entered. “I found some stuff about humanoid models that—” Kunsel stopped when he saw Angeal staring at him then glanced down at Zack’s work station, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. “He’s…You got him to start working? How?!”

Angeal slowly looked back at Zack with an expression that clearly read ‘Explanations now.’

“Ahaha…Well…I had a successful scrap yard trip!”


	2. Gear Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all begins with the first few steps.

“So let me get this straight.” Angeal was sitting across from his apprentice, slowly rubbing his temples to try and hold back a strong Zack-induced headache. “You found a humanoid model at the scrap yard, dragged it **across town** to bring it to the shop and then fixed it **by yourself** without having any idea what you were doing?”

“Yup, that about summarizes it.” Zack was sitting at his work station, adjusting the screws on robot’s legs. Kunsel was standing next to him, leaning against the wall in an attempt to keep himself out of Angeal’s sight and let Zack take the brunt of his frustration. “There we go! That should be a little bit better, anyway.” He glanced up at the robot with a grin. “Why don’t you try walking now?”

The robot slowly stood up, his arms spread in attempt to balance himself. After he realized that he wasn’t going to fall over he took a few tentative steps then looked back at Zack.

Zack gave him a thumbs up. “Great! Looks like you’re good to go with walking then.”

The robot looked at Zack quietly for a moment. “Zack…” He began, looking as if he wanted to say something else but eventually looked away and began to walk around the shop, stretching out his legs as he did so. Zack stood up, stretching a little before looking to Angeal with a grin, his chest puffed out with pride. “But it’s impressive, right? I mean look at him! He’s walking and talking and everything now.”

Angeal watched the robot carefully before turning his attention to Zack. His apprentice was practically bouncing in anticipation and looked as if he would burst if he didn’t get some sort of approval. Angeal let out a light sigh.

“Well you nearly caused an entire block to lose power…”

“Aw come on! Angeal!” 

“Although…” He smiled “Even I have to admit it Zack…it is really impressive. Especially since you’ve never worked on something this complicated before.” Angela’s eyes crinkled slightly as his smile turned into a bit of a smirk. “But he only seems to be able to say your name so far.”

Zack grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m sure he’ll learn more words eventually! It’ll probably just take some time.”

“Maybe…” Angeal turned his attention back to the robot, who had made a few circles around the shop at this point and was now bending down to look at Zack’s toolbox. “It is strange, though. It sounds as if his entire system has been wiped of any information on his previous owner or what his intended purpose was.” Angeal took a few steps towards the robot, reaching his hand towards one of his ear pieces. “I might be able to do a search of his hard drive if I hook him up to my computer and- Hey!”

The moment that Angeal placed his hand on the robot’s ear piece and tightened his grip the robot suddenly reeled back and stumbled backwards into the corner, nearly tripping over Zack’s box of tools as he moved. The robot stared at Angeal with wide eyes, his hands covering his ear pieces. “Z-Zack…!”

Before Angeal could warn Zack against approaching a possibly-unstable humanoid robot, the teen was at the robot’s side, his hands on the other’s shoulders. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong? It’s okay, Angeal’s not gonna hurt you…” Zack could feel the robot’s shoulders trembling and it made his heart clench as the robot stared up at him with a mixture of terror and confusion. “Come on now, it’s okay…Nothing bad is gonna happen. Is it your ear pieces? Here, let me see…” He slowly began to reach his hand up towards the robot’s right ear piece.

Kunsel was standing straight up now, his body tense. “Zack, what do you think you’re—”

“Just stay there, Kunsel. Relax, he’s not gonna hurt me.” The robot watched Zack with wide eyes as he slowly reached up then gently brushed his fingers against the ear piece. The robot flinched, closing his eyes tightly. Zack lowered his hand and the robot relaxed, slowly opening his eyes to look up at him. “There, see? Everything’s okay.” Zack smiled gently and the robot eventually gave a small smile in return.

Without thinking, Zack reached up to playfully ruffle the robot’s blonde spikes. The robot laughed a little, ducking his head slightly.

_Cute…_

Before Zack could comprehend what he just thought Angeal spoke. “Interesting…it seems as if his ear pieces are extremely sensitive.”

Zack turned to look at Angeal, frowning slightly. “Yeah, it looks that way. But that can’t be normal, right? I’m pretty the stuff I’ve read about humanoid models hasn’t mentioned anything like that.” Zack looked to Kunsel for confirmation. Kunsel just shrugged and shook his head.

“I haven’t heard anything about it either.”

“Maybe his wiring has rusted slightly or maybe the earpiece hardware itself has been damaged from his previous treatment…” Angeal trailed off, crossing his arms as he fell into a pensive silence. 

Zack tilted his head slightly. “Angeal?” The robot looked between Angeal and Zack then tilted his head in a similar manner.

Angeal shook his head quickly, turning to look at Zack instead. “Well, I guess that settles it, at least.”

“Huh? Settles what?”

“You fixed him by yourself and it seems like you’re the only one he’ll let get close enough to touch him.” Angeal smiled. “So he’s your responsibility now, Zack.”  
Zack blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what he just heard. “My responsibility? Wait, so…” Zack’s face broke out into a wide grin as he ran over to Angeal. “So we can keep him? He can stay here?!”

“We can.” Angeal laughed a little, taking a step back to avoid one of Zack’s tackle-hugs. “Just promise me you won’t get too carried away.” He turned and began to walk towards the door. “I need to go do a few errands for supplies we need around the shop now but I’ll be back in a few hours.” He put his hand on the doorknob, pausing to glance back at his apprentice. “And Zack…try not to bring home any more new ‘projects’ while I’m gone, okay?”

Zack gave a little salute. “Can do!” The robot looked at Zack curiously then copied the gesture. Angeal shook his head, laughing a little to himself as he shut the door.

“What am I getting myself into…”

***

“Huh, you’re right. He is copying me, huh?” Zack folded his arms, watching the robot curiously as he copied the gesture, even imitating Zack’s puzzled frown. 

“Yeah, I noticed him starting to do that when Angeal was in here.” Kunsel scratched his head. “It’s really weird. It’s almost like he has a learning program or something.”

“Learning program, huh…” Zack grinned. “Well that makes it even better then! It’ll be easier to show him what to do.”

Kunsel walked around to the robot’s other side, making sure to keep a respectful distance so as not to set him off again. Even with that, the robot looked a bit nervous as Kunsel walked around him. “What do you mean ‘show him what to do’? It doesn’t look like he has any sort of objective built into his programming. Or, if there was one, it was erased before he got tossed out.”

“I mean that he’s gonna help around the shop, duh!” Zack shook his head at Kunsel as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. “Especially if he’s got some sort of learning program on board, I’ll just show him what to do and he can do it.”

Kunsel frowned lightly. “I dunno, Zack. He doesn’t really seem to be…stable. What if he breaks something?”

Zack waved him off. “Would you relax already? He’s fine. Besides, it’s not like I’ve never broken anything around here…Okay!” Zack suddenly turned to the robot, who jumped slightly in response. “We’ll start off with something easy first, since I just got your legs all straightened out.” Zack took a quick look around the shop then snapped his fingers at the sight of a large pile of boxes in the corner. “There we go! Angeal’s been telling me to put this stuff away for ages.” Zack looked to the robot with a grin. “Let’s start with putting these away, okay? Just do what I do.”

Zack walked over to the boxes and, after glancing over to make sure the robot was watching carefully, picked one up then walked over to a shelving unit across the room and placed it there. “All right!” Zack looked to the robot. “Now you try, okay?”

The robot nodded and Zack couldn’t help but laugh at the extremely earnest and serious expression on his face. _It looks like he really wants to give it a try._ After a moment the robot slowly walked over to the boxes, carefully adjusting his arms to pick one up, then began to walk over to the shelving unit just as Zack had done. 

Even Kunsel looked mildly impressed. “Huh, he really is doing it.” 

Unfortunately, it seemed he had spoken too soon. The robot suddenly looked to the side and, once distracted, tripped over a step-stool lying nearby and fell face-first onto the ground. The box fell with a sickening crashing sound that caused Zack to flinch. “Oh, shit! Hopefully that wasn’t too expensive…”

“It **sounded** expensive.”

“Not helping, Kunsel!” Zack went over to the robot, kneeling down next to him. “Hey, you okay?” He offered the robot a hand, dusting him off as he helped him stand up. “You’re kind of a spacey one, huh?” The robot looked around dazedly as if to prove Zack’s point.

Kunsel put a hand on his hip, shaking his head. “Well I gotta say Zack, you sure know how to pick ‘em. I’ve never seen a humanoid model with ‘head in the clouds’ syndrome before.”

Zack didn’t immediately say anything in response. He watched the robot thoughtfully as the blonde looked all around the shop then finally settled on staring out the window. “Head in the clouds, huh…”

Kunsel wasn’t sure what to make of Zack’s sudden preoccupied expression. “What’s wrong, Zack?”

“You know, he doesn’t remember his name or anything.” Zack looked at Kunsel with a light smile. “But I’ve gotta call him something, right? I can’t just keep saying ‘Him’ or ‘You there’ or stuff like that. So, how about…” Zack’s gaze shifted back to the robot again, waiting for the robot to look back at him before he continued. “How about…Cloud?”

Kunsel sputtered. “What? **Cloud**?! Zack, what the hell, that’s so…” Kunsel put a hand over his face. “That’s so damn cheezy!”

Zack huffed. “Well who cares what you think? It only matters if he likes it!” The robot, who had been so easily distracted before, was now watching Zack attentively. “So, what do you think? How does the name ‘Cloud” sound to you? Is that what your name to be?”

The robot’s eyes widened slightly before he glanced down, muttering the name under his breath a few times. After a moment he looked back up at Zack with a bright smile. Zack couldn’t help but stare at the sight and, once again, admire just how pretty the robot’s eyes looked up close. He also had to wonder why he felt so happy all of a sudden.

“Yes…” Cloud replied suddenly, causing Zack and Kunsel to almost fall over in shock. 

“I like it… Zack”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU GOD he has a name now. It was getting pretty tiring writing "the robot" over and over again @_@


	3. Gear Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack thinks he has some idea about what he's doing. Maybe.

The apartment above Angeal’s shop was small but comfortable. It had a living room big enough for the necessities, like a couch, tv and a video game console. There was also a bedroom, bathroom and a small kitchen that Zack barely touched except to put more of Angeal’s leftovers in the fridge. It had always been big enough for Zack but now seemed a bit more crowded with a humanoid robot bumping around.

“There we go! Hey, that’s not too bad” Zack folded his arms as he looked at Cloud. “Those clothes suit you.”

The robot had just come out of the bathroom wearing a pair of Zack’s work pants and one of Zack’s black shirts. Cloud looked at himself in the mirror then back at Zack. “They do?”

“Yeah! I mean, okay, maybe the shirt’s a little bit big on you but we can just put it some cold water then throw it in the dryer to shrink it down a bit.” Zack walked over to Cloud, giving him a once over before smiling brightly. “These’ll do until we can do some shopping and get you some clothes that are actually in your size, anyway.”

Cloud’s eyes widened slightly, his mouth slightly ajar. After a moment he glanced away with a slight frown, fiddling with the bottom hem of the shirt. Zack waited patiently to see if Cloud could figure out what he wanted to say without asking for any hints.

_It’s pretty amazing, actually. It’s only been about 24 hours since I finished fixing him but he’s already gotten so much better at talking._ Just as the thought entered his mind Zack took a brief second to comprehend it before he was suddenly hit with a splitting headache. It had been almost 48 hours since he had slept and boy was it hitting him now. Zack took out his cell phone from his back pocket, quickly glancing down to check the time: Almost 11 pm.

He rubbed at his head, quickly putting on a smile when Cloud glanced back up at him. “I get to have more?” Cloud asked quietly. “I’m okay with just these…”

“Don’t be silly! Of course you gotta have more than one pair of something, especially with how dirty everything gets around the shop. Oh! And I almost forgot. You’re gonna need some gloves too.” Zack glanced around his room, trying to block out the Angeal-voice in the back of his mind that reprimanded him for how messy it was. Spotting a clean pair of gloves in the hamper, Zack squatted down to grab them. “Aha! There we go-o…” 

Suddenly the world began to spin and the gloves that seemed in reach were suddenly upside-down and his head was pressed against the wooden floor. “Ow…”

“Zack...?” Cloud’s face suddenly appeared in view, his eyes wide and confused looking. “Why are you on the ground?”

Despite the fact that the world was still spinning slightly, Zack couldn’t help but smile a little at Cloud’s worried face. In the back of his mind he knew that Cloud’s expressions were programmed to be as human-like as possible but he still found it amazing. If it weren’t for Cloud’s ear pieces and the metal bars on his face he could have confused him for being a normal human being.

“Yeah…Yeah. I’m fine.” Zack moved to sit up only to flop back down on the floor again. “Well, at least I will be once the ground stops moving underneath me.”

_But doesn’t that mean he’s just programmed to react like that if someone starts acting weird or gets hurt?_

Cloud immediately jumped up, looking around at the floor in a panic. “The ground…!? But it’s—” His sentence was interrupted as Zack burst out laughing, causing Cloud to look at him in confusion. “What?”

Zack’s laughter died down after a second and he sat up, rubbing his head with a grin. “Sorry, sorry, I’m not trying to make fun of you. It’s just an expression…” Zack stood up slowly, shaking his head to try and ride himself of the last of the dizziness. Cloud leaned towards him, looking unsure.

“An…expression?”

“Yeah. I just haven’t slept in a while so I was starting to feel dizzy.” Zack smiled reassuringly as Cloud’s expression began to look more alarmed “I’ll be okay. I just need to get a good night’s sleep.”

This seemed to relieve Cloud slightly as his body relaxed, though his eyes still looked concerned. “Oh.” Cloud glanced to the side. “What…should I do? While you’re sleeping?”

Zack blinked. He hadn’t really thought of that. “Well…You should probably rest too. I mean you gotta have a sleep mode or something, right? Where you can just plug in and recharge?”

Cloud just stared blankly in response.

Zack scratched the back of his head. “Uh…I don’t know how else to explain it, here. You know, where you close your eyes and just…lie there?”

That seemed to ring a bell, as Cloud finally nodded in recognition. “Oh...Okay.” Cloud glanced around the room then began to walk along the perimeter of it.

Zack couldn’t stop an amused chuckle from escaping. “What are you doing now?”

“Trying to find a plug…”

“Hold up, hold up. I already got one set up for you next to the couch. Er—” Zack paused. “Well, more like Angeal set up an external circuit up here so you could recharge without blowing all the fuses again. Come on, I’ll show you.” Zack began to walk towards the living room, the quick clunking of Cloud’s metal legs not far behind.

Zack gestured towards his large, slightly ragged, but comfy couch. “Sorry, I don’t really have an extra bed up here, but I figure this is better than sitting on the cement down in the shop.” Cloud looked between Zack and the couch, obviously unsure. Zack laughed a little. “I know it’s not the fanciest looking thing but it’s comfy, I swear!” 

He gave one of the cushions a pat for emphasis and, after a few more seconds’ hesitation, Cloud finally sat down. He looked around, bouncing a little on the fabric. “It’s…springy.” Cloud patted the cushion just as Zack had done earlier. “And soft.”

“See? That’s not so bad. Oh! I almost forgot the pillows and blankets.” Zack whipped around to walk back into his room. After grabbing an extra pillow and blanket from his bed, he returned to find Cloud tentatively stretching out along the couch, looking at Zack curiously.

“You know, now that I think about it, I dunno if humanoid models get cold or anything like that. Well, it can’t hurt to give you something just in case, right?” He set the pillow down near Cloud’s head, watching in amusement as the robot shifted around and adjusted himself with the blanket. “How’s that feel? Okay?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah…”

“Great! Now just gotta get you plugged in some.” Zack squatted down, reaching over to grab one of the large cords that was plugged into the specially designed socket in the wall. Without thinking, Zack went to place his free hand on Cloud’s right ear piece. He stopped when he noticed Cloud’s face, which was staring at him with slightly widened eyes. “Oh…right.” His hand dropped. “Sorry, I almost forgot you were sensitive around there.” Pausing thoughtfully, he held the plug out towards Cloud. “You wanna plug it in yourself?” Zack tilted his head slightly, grinning. “I know it might feel less weird. I mean, I always feel better pulling splinters and stuff out myself instead of having other people do it.”

Cloud slowly looked between the plug and Zack’s face. After a moment he nodded and took the plug from Zack, gingerly removing his ear piece cap and plugging the wire into the slot. Once it was secure Cloud let out a little sigh of relief then looked towards Zack with a light smile. Zack’s smile brightened in response. “There. That feel okay?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah. It’s okay.”  
“Great!” Zack stood up, stretching out his sides. “Okay, I’m gonna crash. I’ll see you tomorrow, Cloud.” Zack turned out the lights and began to walk back into his room.

“Zack…”

“Yeah?” Zack turned around, looking at Cloud. 

Cloud bit his lip, his eyes falling to the ground as his voice grew softer. “…Thank you.”

Zack stared at Cloud, feeling unable to do or say anything for a brief moment. He knew, in the back of his mind, that Cloud wasn’t actually a real person. After all, he had seen the wiring and circuitry inside his head himself. 

However, despite that, he felt his heart swell at the shyness in Cloud’s voice and the sincerity of his expression. “Hey…” Zack coughed a little to clear his throat. “It’s no problem. Seriously, don’t worry about it.”

With that, Zack finally made it over to his bed. At this point he felt too exhausted to do much more than kick off his shoes and crash onto the mattress. He’d worry about showering and other less important things later.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, an annoying buzzing from his pocket nearly caused him to jump out of his skin. Groaning, Zack pulled his cell phone out again and blearily looked at the message.

It was Kunsel, of course.

**From: Kunsel**   
**Hey I just got off a long shift at work. How’s everything going with Cloud?**   
**P.S. I still can’t believe you named him that.**

Zack sighed and began to type a response one-handed.

**To: Kunsel**   
**The hell are you doing messaging me at 11 pm I was just going to sleep. Everything’s good.**   
**P.S. Shut up**

Zack pressed send and switched his phone to silent mode before placing it next to him. He had every intention of falling asleep within the next few seconds but a sudden thought stopped him.

_…Is everything really going okay?_ Zack sat up and glanced towards the living room. There was no door between the two areas, so he could clearly see the glowing of the power cord lighting up Cloud’s face. His eyes were closed, his face looking calm as he settled in sleep mode.

_Do I really know what I’m doing?_ Zack flopped back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I figured out how to fix him but now that he’s working…what do I do? I mean, he’s my responsibility.”

He knew that he could ask Kunsel and Angeal for help but even they seemed confused by Cloud. “There’s gotta be people out there that know more about this sorta thing. I mean, I’ve seen humanoid models all around the city, so…”

Filled with a sudden burst of energy, Zack reached underneath his bed for his (beat up but functional) laptop. With a few quick strokes of the keys he was on one of the robotics forums he would usually consult if he had an engineering question. 

“Let’s see, let’s see. Humanoid robot topics…there we go!” Scanning past a few posts questioning some new A.I. programming, Zack began to type up a new post. “Found damaged humanoid model…Sensitive around his ear pieces…Slowly learning to talk...If you could email me here I’d really…appreciate it…There.” After adding his email address to the bottom and cliking “Post” he closed his laptop with a sigh.

“Well, I guess that’s all we can do for now.” Zack glanced towards the living room again, a soft smile appearing on his face. 

“Good night, Cloud.”

***

“Ah, crap, crap!” Zack dashed into the shop just as another rumble of thunder and crash of lightning flashed across the sky.

“Zack?” Angeal sat up, pushing his welding mask to the top of his head. “Is that you?”

“Yeah! Sorry I’m late.” Zack pushed his wet bangs up and out of his face. “That delivery took way longer than I thought, then this storm started up and …” 

Angeal held a hand up. “Don’t worry about that now, Zack. You should go upstairs and change before you make yourself sick by standing in those wet clothes”

Zack gave a little salute. “Gotcha!” He began to run up the stairs, pausing halfway. “Hey, do you know where Cloud is? I don’t see him anywhere around the shop.”

Angeal glanced around, rubbing his head. “Well he was down here helping me organize a few things but I haven’t seen him since the storm started. I think he may have gone upstairs.”

“Great! Thanks, Angeal!” Zack dashed up the rest of the stairs, hearing Angeal’s faint cry of ‘Don’t just leave your wet clothes all over the floor, Zack!’ before closing the door behind him.

“Cloud?” Zack called, flicking the lights on before pulling off his wet t-shirt. “Cloud, I’m home!” Stopping before tossing his shirt on the kitchen floor, Zack thought better of it and draped it over the chair instead. He glanced around, beginning to grow slightly anxious when he didn’t hear any response from the robot or spot any blonde spiky hair behind the couch.

“Cloud? Cloud!” Zack walked into the bedroom, jumping slightly at the crash of another lightning bolt. “Gah! Damn storm’s got me all jumpy.” Zack’s eyes traveled all around the room, stopping at the sight of a slightly ajar closet door. Zack tilted his head curiously. “I don’t remember that being open…” Slowly, he walked over towards it, unsure of why he suddenly felt an uneasy sensation in the pit of his stomach.

“Cloud, you in here…?” Zack gingerly pushed the door open, his eyes widening when he revealed what was inside. 

The robot was sitting in the corner of the closet, his legs pulled up to his chest and his hands held tightly over his ear pieces. His eyes were clenched shut, though they opened slightly once Zack opened the door. He stared up at the other, his expression lost and unsure. “Z-…Zack…”

Zack’s heart clenched at his expression. “Cloud…” He crouched down next to him, frowning. “Hey, what’s wrong? What are you doing in here?”

“The storm, I—” Before Cloud could go on, a loud thunderclap echoed across the sky and Cloud flinched, curling in tighter on himself and clenching his eyes shut.

“The storm…?” Zack glanced up then back at Cloud, who was visibly trembling. “The storm’s bothering you? Is that why you went in here?”

Cloud nodded quickly, burying his head further between his knees. “…That electric sound, it feels—…” He paused. “…It hurts.”

Zack felt absolutely powerless. He had no idea how, or why, Cloud was so sensitive to the electricity from the lightning. It wasn’t like he could make the storm go away or do anything to fix Cloud in that moment to make it hurt less. 

Unsure of what else to do, Zack reached his arms around Cloud and pulled him into a tight hug. The robot flinched and stiffened in surprise, glancing up to look up at the other. “Zack?”

“Sorry, I can’t think of anything that I can do to make it stop hurting” He pulled Cloud a little tighter to himself. “But I’ll stay with you until it does stop, at least.”

“Za—” Another lightning crash made Cloud flinch violently and wrap his arms around Zack’s back, burying his face against his chest. 

Zack blushed slightly at the contact, suddenly remembering that he wasn’t wearing a shirt as he felt Cloud’s skin and hair brush against his bare chest. Surprisingly, the metal plates on Cloud’s face weren’t as ice-cold as he would have expected. 

_Actually, they’re kinda…warm._ Zack glanced down at Cloud, moving one of his hands to brush through the other’s hair. _Even though his skin and hair are synthetic, they feel soft too. Just like a real person’s…_

A ‘real person’.

What did that mean, exactly? 

Zack tried to push that train of thought out of his mind and instead tried to focus back on helping Cloud. “Is that okay? Is it helping any?”

Another clap of thunder echoed across the sky. Cloud flinched again, though it was less violent this time as he tightened his grip around Zack. “It still hurts, but…”

Zack tilted his head slightly. “But?”

“Hearing Zack’s heartbeat makes me feel better.” Cloud muttered.

Zack felt his mouth go dry. He swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say in response but, for once, he couldn’t think of anything. Instead, he held Cloud in silence, listening to the sounds of the rain patter against the metal roof.

An hour later, Angeal came up the stairs in search of his apprentice. He needed his help with one of the new projects but, mainly, he also wanted to make sure he hadn’t done something like fall asleep in the shower. It had happened at least twice, at this point.

“Zack?” Angeal called and, after not getting a response, began to walk towards his room. He stopped when he saw Zack sitting in the closet with the door wide open. He was leaning against it, sound asleep. Cloud was in sleep mode as well, with his head resting against Zack’s chest and his arms around his apprentice’s waist.

Angeal watched the two of them in silence for a few seconds. Then, just as quietly, he walked over to Zack’s bed and pulled the cover off of it to gently place over the two of them.   
After switching off the light, Angeal walked back down to the shop, slowly closing the door behind him.


	4. Gear Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack learns a bit more about Cloud but winds up with more questions than answers.

The next few days past rather uneventfully, save for a few dropped lightbulbs and an almost-broken rotary replacement as Cloud became more and more accustomed to helping around the shop. Zack was usually pretty bad about cleaning up after himself or keeping orders and other paperwork organized so those jobs ended up falling to Cloud. Much to Zack’s dismay, Angeal also gave the robot a few verbal commands to help make him a bit more “useful” to Zack.  
“Zack…”  
“Ngh.”  
“Zack, according to my internal clock, you needed to get up five minutes ago.”

Zack let out a groan, opening one eye to stare at the blonde robot standing over his bed. Cloud stared back at him with such an innocent expression that Zack found himself unable to get mad at him. Instead, he mentally cursed Angeal for his bright ideas about increasing his apprentice’s “productivity”.

“Cloud…” Zack muttered, pulling the pillow over his head. “I know Angeal told you 7 am but it’s Sunday. The shop isn’t even open today. All I have to do is finish repairs on stuff for Monday…”

Cloud blinked a few times, tilting his head slightly. “Sunday?”

“Yeah. It means that I get to sleep in at least a **little** bit.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” Cloud replied, a slightly embarrassed tone in his voice. Zack moved the pillow off his face to glance up at the other, feeling a twinge of guilt at the frown that had suddenly appeared on the robot’s face. Zack let out a little sigh then offered a smile.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I know you’re only trying to do what Angeal asked you to do. I mean, that guy would probably rather I get up and actually do something, but…” Zack rolled over onto his back, putting his hands behind his head. “30 more minutes of relaxing isn’t gonna hurt anything.”

“Then…” Cloud looked around hesitantly before glancing back down at Zack. “What should I do?”

Zack grinned up at him. “Well, you can relax too. You don’t always have to be working- Woah!” Zack sat up in surprise as the mattress suddenly sunk down under Cloud’s weight. After lying down right next to Zack the robot looked up at him inquisitively. 

“What’s wrong, Zack?”

“Aha…” Zack laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, nothing, I was just uh…wondering what you were doing?”  
“Relaxing.” Cloud replied simply. “Isn’t this how you do it?”

Zack felt at a loss as he stared down at the other. “Well, I mean, yeah it is but…well…you wanna be in my bed? It’s kinda cramped.” Zack lay back down again, scooting closer to the wall so that Cloud could have an extra inch.

“It’s not cramped.” Cloud moved so he was lying on his side then pressed his head onto Zack’s shoulder, causing the teen’s heart to jump right into his throat. “Plus, this bed has Zack in it, so it’s more relaxing than anywhere else.”

Zack’s eyes widened as he felt the blood rush to his face, which became worse as Cloud wrapped his arms around him “C-Cloud…” Zack’s arms were awkwardly stiff at his side as he wasn’t sure where to put them.

Cloud moved his face up so that he was staring into Zack’s eyes which, unfortunately for Zack’s heart, were now only a few inches from his. Zack felt himself trapped in his the other’s gaze, once again drawn in to their beautiful blue glow. “Yes?” Cloud asked, beginning to frown slightly. “Am I doing something wrong?”

As Zack stared into Cloud’s eyes he began to wonder what it was about them that seemed so strange. It only took him a second to realize what it was: besides their glow, they were also unusually expressive. When Zack had first fixed him, Cloud’s eyes still had the slightly blank expression of any other humanoid model that he had seen. But as time went on, Cloud’s eyes and facial expressions were getting more and more animated and easy to read. 

_It’s like he’s getting to be more like a human every day. I feel like that should be freaking me out but…it’s not._

“No…No of course not! You’re not doing anything wrong, Cloud!” Zack gave a quick grin as he moved one arm around the back of Cloud’s neck. “As long as you’re okay with being kinda squished its fine with me” Cloud smiled brightly in response and cuddled even closer to Zack. 

Zack let out a sigh. Like hell he was going to be getting any relaxation now but at least Cloud was happy. 

_But why the hell won’t my heart stop pounding?_

A few seconds later, Zack’s pillow buzzled, causing Cloud to sit up in alarm. Zack chuckled softly. “Relax, it’s just my phone. I must have a text or something.” Zack pulled his phone out from under the pillow and waited for Cloud to get comfortable again before flipping it open. 

Half-expecting it to be a message from Kunsel, Zack was surprised to see a different icon appear. “Huh, new email. Let’s see…” Zack quickly scanned for the message and clicked it open, pausing when he immediately noticed something strange: there was no address listed under “From”.

_The hell? This some sort of virus or something?_

Zack would have immediately deleted it if not for the message’s title, which read “Regarding Your Forum Post”.

“Huh, I had almost forgotten about that post…It’s been a couple days now, at least.”

Cloud, who still had his head resting right against Zack’s shoulder, stared up at the phone out of the corner of his eye. “Post?”

“Yeah.” Zack gave the other a lopsided grin. “I went on one of the online robotics forums to see if anyone knew anything about you.”

Cloud immediately frowned. “About me? Why?”

“Well…” Zack paused, unsure what to think about Cloud’s sudden shift in mood. “I just wanted to see what I could do to take better care of you. You know, tips and stuff like that.” The tension in Cloud’s body immediately disappeared as he buried his face against Zack’s shoulder. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly muffled. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Huh?” Zack glanced over at Cloud, trying to catch a glimpse of his now-hidden facial expression. “What do you mean?”

“Zack already takes good care of me.” Cloud replied softly.

Zack was starting to lose track of the number of times Cloud had said something that left him speechless. Trying not lose it from just how touched he was, Zack grinned quickly and reached over with his free hand to ruffle Cloud’s hair. “Heh, well, I’m glad you think so. But there’s always stuff I could be doing better.” Zack turned his attention back to the phone, which contained a frustratingly short and cryptic message.

**From your description of the model, I’m almost positively sure that I have the information you asked about. But I need to make sure before I send you anything more. Please send me a picture of the humanoid model for confirmation.**

Zack blinked a few times. “What the hell is up with that? That’s pretty rude not to even say who you are but still demand stuff like that.” Zack let out a small sigh. “Well I guess there’s no big harm in a picture, right?” He held the phone closer to Cloud’s face as the other stared at him in confusion. “Hey Cloud, smile!”

Cloud tilted his head, obviously not getting it. “Why?”

“Cuz I’m taking your picture and you’re supposed to smile when you get your picture taken, of course. And sit up a little too, this might be weird looking if it’s just a head shot of you against my pillow or something.”

“It’s…weird?” Despite the new confusion Cloud eventually conceded, sitting up and giving the camera a shy smile. Once the picture was taken, Zack turned his cell phone around to show Cloud. “See? It’s a better picture if you smile.”

Cloud blinked at the photo. “Is that what I…look like?” The robot tilted his head slightly. “I look…really different from you.”

Zack laughed a little. “Yeah, that’s you all right. I mean, of course you’d look at least a little different from me but, then again, everybody looks different from everybody else…unless they’re a twin or something” Zack moved to attach the photo and press “Send” but was stopped by a sudden feeling of foreboding.

_Is this really a good idea? I don’t even know who I’m talking to. Plus, why would they want a picture of him?_ He glanced up at Cloud, watching as the robot as he self-consciously rubbed at his metal face plates. _Then again, maybe they could tell me more about Cloud…more about how to take better care of him…For all I know I could be doing something completely wrong, or I could have already broken something when I put him back together._

With a newfound sense of resolve, Zack sent the picture along with a message:  
 **His name is Cloud.**

Zack reached over to ruffle Cloud’s hair, breaking the robot out of his pensive mood. “C’mon, that’s probably enough relaxing for now. Let’s go get the day started, okay?” He smiled gently, earning a soft smile in return. Then, much to Zack’s surprise, Cloud’s arms were around him again.

“Woah!” He laughed a little, patting the top of Cloud’s head. “You really like doing that, huh?”

Cloud nodded, holding the other a little tighter. “It feels nice. Is it okay?”

Zack looked down curiously. “Is it…okay?” He couldn’t quite see Cloud’s expression, as the other was looking to the side.

“Is it okay for me to do it? You always get a confused look on your face.”

Zack felt his face heat up. “C-Confused?” He rubbed the back of his head, laughing a bit nervously. “Well probably cuz I’m not completely used to it, I mean, I’m the one that’s usually hugging other people and stuff all the time. I mean, a lot of people probably think it’s annoying when I do and most of the time Angeal will push me off—”

“I like it, though.” Cloud interrupted. “I like being close to Zack.”

Zack was sure his face couldn’t get any hotter. “Well, then…I’ve got no problem with it. I mean, well, that…you’re nice to hug too.” Zack nearly face palmed in embarrassment. _What the hell am I saying?!_ “Anyway!” Zack moved to stand up, gently pulling Cloud up with him. Luckily Cloud moved to stand on his own, since there was no way he was going to be able to support the robot’s weight. “I’m gonna go take a quick shower. Can you go turn on the machines downstairs?”

Cloud nodded, finally moving to let go. For some reason, Zack felt a little regretful when Cloud finally moved away.

“Okay, Zack.” He replied pleasantly. 

***

“Shit, why did I put this one off?!” Zack pushed his goggles to the top of his head, staring up at the formidable piece of work in front of him. It was a massive, cuboid robot that was used for compacting and recycling trash at one of the many junk yards in Midgar. It was having some mechanical dysfunctions that Zack was sure he could fix easily, if only he could access circuitry box at the top. Of course, the step ladder was missing and Zack wasn’t about to call Angeal to ask where it was. Angeal had asked him to start this particular project two days ago and Zack wasn’t in the mood to be lectured over the phone.

“Ah damn, well I guess I could **climb** i- Huh!?” Zack leaned back slightly, flailing as he was suddenly picked up and hoisted onto a shoulder. Zack looked down to see Cloud holding him securely around the legs with one arm so that he wouldn’t fall.

“Can you see better?” Cloud asked, looking perfectly calm.

“That— what…You can…You can pick me **up?!** ” Zack cried out, still flailing with one arm as he held on to Cloud’s head with his other. “You’re not even breaking a sweat down there!”

Cloud drew his brows together in confusion, adjusting his grip slightly to help keep Zack balanced. “Should I be?”

“Well, I mean, I guess not but…Damn! This is awesome! Here, put me down for a second.” Cloud did so, looking at Zack curiously as the other seemed on the verge of jumping up and running around the whole shop. “Holy shit, Cloud, I’m not the biggest guy around here but I’m not exactly the smallest either and you just picked me up like it was— Okay! Hold on. Can you try picking up…?” Zack paused as he quickly looked around the shop for the heaviest thing he could think of. “How about that metal bench over there?!” 

Cloud blinked a few times. “I don’t know what we’re getting done but…okay.” Calmly, he walked over to the bench (which was made of a thick, heavy metal) and reached down to easily pick it up with one hand. “Like that?”

Zack ran his fingers through his hair, grinning in sheer disbelief. “Holy shit, holy shit, Cloud…Do you even realize how amazing this is?! Hold on, lemme take a picture. Kunsel is **not** gonna believe this…!” After taking a quick picture and typing out the message: **Cloud just PICKED ME UP and can do THIS TOO** to Kunsel, he looked back at Cloud with a grin. “Okay, you can put that back down now. Man, I seriously can’t BELIEVE this!”

“Is it…weird?” Cloud asked as he put down the bench, beginning to look a bit shy. “Should I not be able to do that?”

“It’s not about should or anything like that, Cloud! It’s amazing either way. I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any other humanoid models having such a huge strength boost.” Zack ruffled Cloud’s hair playfully, causing the other to laugh brightly. “You’re definitely special, Cloud.”

Cloud’s eyes widened. “I’m…special?” he asked hesitantly.

“Definitely!” Zack replied with a grin. “I thought so from the second I got you working, but this proves it even more.” Zack’s phone buzzed in his pocket. “Heh, let’s see what Kunsel says here. He’s probably gonna accuse me of doctoring that picture somehow but he can just come over here and—” Zack paused mid-sentence as he stared at his phone. It wasn’t a message from Kunsel but another email; once again, from a blank address. “…see for himself…”

Cloud frowned slightly, noticing the change in Zack’s facial expression. “Zack?”

Zack quickly hid any signs of worry in his face, offering Cloud a grin instead. “Sorry, I just gotta look at something real quick. Hey, would you mind using that awesome strength of yours and moving some of those huge replacement gears outta the basement? They’ve been sitting down there a while cuz they’ve been too heavy to move ourselves.”

“Sure…” Cloud replied, giving Zack a questioning look over his shoulder before he began to walk towards the staircase.

Zack turned his attention back to his phone, his mouth now curved downwards into a concerned frown.

There was simply an email title and a picture attachment with no other message.

“Have you…ever heard of…SOLDIER?” Zack read out loud, rubbing his head thought. “SOLDIER? Is that supposed to stand for something?” Without thinking, Zack opened the attached image. What he saw nearly caused him to drop his phone in shock.

“What the hell…?!” Zack put a hand to his mouth, unable to avert his eyes from the picture, despite the sudden feeling of dread that filled his entire body. “Is this some sort of joke?!”

It was a picture of Cloud from the waist up. There were dozens upon dozens of long wires sticking out from either ear piece. His eyes were closed, his bare arms crossed over his equally bare chest and there was no sign of the outfit that Zack had found him in at the junkyard. That wasn’t what held Zack’s attention, however. No, what Zack couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from was the large black emblem running across Cloud’s chest. On top of a strange square symbol that Zack didn’t recognize was a single word:

SOLDIER.


	5. Gear Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A robot strong enough to lift more than his weight in metal shouldn't be interested in flower arranging...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well if you were wondering how Aerith was gonna be in the story...here she is!

“That picture…Zack, you know what that means, don’t you?”

Zack scratched the back of his head, adjusting his cell phone against his shoulder. He was using his hands to frantically try and work on a circuit board for a clients’ cleaning model robot. Though to be honest, he mainly needed something to do with his hands to keep them from shaking. The mysterious email and photo had been more than a bit unsettling.

“It means…I was talking to one of the guys who had something to do with building Cloud I guess.”

“More than **that** you dumbass!” Zack winced slightly and tilted his head to try and get away from Kunsel’s shouting. “It means that you just sent a picture of Cloud to whoever that is that might want him back! What if they figure out a way to trace it? They could be coming to get you and him right now…!” 

Zack frowned. “Well if they wanted him back so bad, why the hell did they break him and throw him in the trash, huh?” Zack paused as Kunsel sighed on the other end of the line. 

“I…I don’t know. I guess that wouldn’t make any sense.”

“Exactly. It’s too early to start freaking out yet, man.” Zack had actually been thinking something similar to Kunsel, which was why he had immediately called his friend. It helped to calm himself down whenever he would try and prevent Kunsel from panicking. “But you haven’t heard of it, right?”

“No, I definitely haven’t heard of SOLDIER but…I mean, I keep looking at that picture you forwarded me and I keep thinking that I’ve seen that symbol somewhere before. Maybe it was one day when I came into work or something, but…” Kunsel trailed off, becoming lost in his own thoughts. Zack took the opportunity to listen for the sound of Cloud’s footsteps coming up the stairs. He felt bad, like he was sneaking around behind Cloud’s back, but for some reason Zack didn’t want the other to know about the picture. At least, not yet.

“I might be able to do a little research about it. This symbol thing is gonna drive me crazy, though…Why don’t you meet me at my apartment in like an hour? Then we could both use the computer systems at work to look some stuff up.”

“Use your work computer?” Zack put the circuit board down on the table then rubbed the back of his neck. “I dunno Kunsel, wouldn’t you get in trouble for bringing me into the building when it’s not technically open or something?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I got a promotion recently so I can get a few more security clearances. You should probably leave Cloud at home, though.”

Zack blinked. “Cloud? Why?”

“It’d make me feel better not to have him clunking around behind us while we’re trying to be sneaky.”

Zack opened his mouth to retort but then paused as he heard a crash from downstairs, signaling that Cloud had either broken or tripped over something. As much as he hated to admit it, Kunsel had a point. Cloud wasn’t exactly the definition of “stealthy”.

Plus, if they found anything out, he could just ask Cloud about it then. There was no need to shock or make the robot too upset.

_Jeeze, it’s like I’m already preparing myself for the worst. Whatever it is…can’t be that bad right?_

Zack was snapped out of his train of thought by Kunsel’s voice on the other line. “Oh yeah! And that other picture you sent me before. Was Cloud…he was seriously picking that up, right? You didn’t mess with that picture at all?”

Zack immediately brightened. “Yeah! And he can pick me up no sweat too. Isn’t that cool?!” Instead of receiving an equally amazed expression from Kunsel, Zack was disappointed when the other remained silent on the other line for a good few seconds. “…Kunsel?”

“Zack, you know…when the humanoid models were first designed, they had to sacrifice any increased strength that some of the construction-type models had to make them look as human as possible.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, it means, if Cloud was just like any other humanoid model that’s available he shouldn’t…” Kunsel paused. “He shouldn’t be able to do stuff like that, Zack.”

Zack frowned deeply. “So? So what if he’s different? You’re acting like that’s a bad—”

“Zack?” The teen immediately stopped, whipping around to see Cloud standing a few feet away, holding a large battery that was about twice the size of his head. “Where should I put this? It didn’t seem like it went with any of the other equipment you wanted me to organize.”

“Oh! I forgot that was down there. We can actually keep that up here for any older models that need a battery replacement.” Zack held the phone a little closer to his mouth. “I’ll talk to you later, Kunsel.”

“Mn. Okay, text me when you’re on your way, okay?”  
Zack ended the call just as Cloud had put the battery away and had started walking over. “Were you talking to Kunsel?”

“Ah, yeah…just had to ask him some stuff. I actually might head over to his place in a little bit. You’re okay staying over at Angeal’s place for a bit, right?”

Cloud frowned slightly. “I can’t come with you?”

Zack laughed nervously, immediately becoming interested in wiping the rust off of a gear sitting on the table. “Nah, it’s just boring stuff anyway. You wouldn’t be interested.” _But I definitely don’t want to leave him here by himself. He’d probably get in some kinda trouble, plus…_

_”What if they figure out a way to trace it? They could be coming to get you and him right now!”_

Zack grimaced. _As much as I hate to admit he’s right, Kunsel had a point with all that. I should probably be more careful._

“Zack…!?” 

“Huh?” Zack looked up at Cloud, who was staring in horror at his right hand which, Zack had just noticed, was bleeding from a small cut on his palm. “Oh, whoops. Must’ve cut it on this thing.”

“C-Cut…?” Cloud quickly got on his knees, grabbing Zack’s bleeding hand. “What’s this coming out of it?! This red stuff…”

Zack couldn’t help but smile at Cloud’s concern. “Oh, that’s blood. It runs all through people’s bodies so if they cut themselves or get hurt, it’ll end up coming out.”

This only served to make Cloud look even more horrified. “Get hurt…? So you’re going to die?! Can’t you put it back!?” Cloud put his hand over Zack’s cut in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

“What?! No, no— Well, I mean, I guess maybe if I got a serious injury I could bleed out, but not from something like this…” Zack sighed. “Ok, maybe I’m not the best at explaining this stuff.” He gestured to a few of the scars on his arms. “I’ve gotten scratches like this before, though. It’s not a big deal, see? I’ll just have another scar to add to the collection.” He smiled gently, rubbing Cloud’s hair as the robot stared at Zack’s arms in interest, finally letting go of his injured hand when he was sure it wasn’t bleeding anymore.

“Your…scars?”

“Yup! Like this one here, too.” Zack pointed at the x-shaped scar on his cheek. “I got that one during kind of a close call, I thought Angeal was gonna totally freak out.”

Cloud stared at Zack’s face in amazement before his eyes drifted back to the scars on Zack’s right arm. “Does it…hurt?”

“Hurt? Nah, they don’t hurt now. Plus they kind of make me look like a badass, right?” Zack looked up at Cloud with a grin but paused when he saw the hesitant expression on Cloud’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I…” Cloud started but then stopped, glancing to the side with a frown.

Zack tilted his head. “Can you…?”

Cloud raised his head slightly, his bangs obscuring part of his face. “Can I…touch them?”

“Huh?” Zack blinked, unsure of how to respond. “Uh, sure. I mean, I don’t see why not.”

Cloud brightened up slightly in response then slowly, carefully, moved his hand towards one of the scars on Zack’s forearm. Zack watched as Cloud’s fingers hovered over his skin for a few seconds before delicately brushing along the scar. Zack blushed slightly. He hadn’t expected Cloud’s touch to feel like this: soft and gentle, almost as if he was afraid to break him by pressing too hard on his skin. As Cloud’s hand moved up towards a scar on his elbow Zack let out a small laugh, causing Cloud to jump and stare up at Zack in alarm.

“Aha…Sorry, you’re fine. That just sorta tickled.”

“Oh…” Cloud hesitated for only a moment this time before rubbing his thumb along another one of Zack’s scars, looking entranced. “They’re just like the ones I—” Cloud stopped immediately, almost as if he hadn’t realized what he had been saying, and pulled his hand away with a frown.

Zack stared at Cloud. “Like the ones you…what?”

Cloud quickly shook his head, pointedly avoiding Zack’s gaze. “It’s nothing.”

Zack frowned lightly in response, wondering just how far he should push Cloud about this. In the end, he decided to let it drop for now. “Well…either way, you’re okay with going over to Angeal’s for a bit right? I should probably leave soon.”

Cloud looked back up at Zack. “Yeah, but…”

Zack tilted his head slightly, studying Cloud’s expressions. “What’s wrong?”

“Angeal’s not home today, remember? Is it okay for me to just stay in his house by myself?”

Zack face palmed. “Damn it! I completely forgot about that…He was gonna be away doing house calls today, huh.” Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “Well so much for that idea— Wait, I know!” He brightened, putting his hands on Cloud’s shoulder. “You can go to Aerith’s shop for a while.”

Cloud stared blankly in response. “Aerith?”

“Yeah! She’s a good friend of mine. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t mind you staying over for a few hours.” Zack stood up and began to walk towards the door, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe the grease off his hands. Zack grinned back at Cloud, who was following him cautiously. “Hey, don’t worry, Aerith is really nice. I’m sure you guys will get along.”

***

Aerith’s flower shop was only a few minutes’ walk away. It was a bright spot in the usually dim and dirty streets of Midgar and, thanks to the rarity of flowers and trees in the city, Aerith was able to do quite a bite of business. 

“Welcome!” Aerith greeted them as they walked in the door, though her enthusiastic smile faded into a slightly more natural one when she recognized Zack. “Oh, it’s just Zack.”

Zack folded his arms, pouting slightly. “Just me? Thanks a lot, Aerith.”

Aerith laughed a little. “Well, I know **you’re** not going to buy anything. I’d be way more interested if you were a customer getting a big ord—” Aerith paused as she finally noticed Cloud, who was doing his best to make himself as small as possible as he hid behind Zack. “Zack, is that…?”

“Huh? Oh.” Zack glanced back at Cloud for a moment before looking back at Aerith. “Yeah, this is the humanoid model I told you about. Cool, huh? His name’s Cloud!” Zack looked back at Cloud, stepping to the side slightly so that Aerith could see him better. “Hey, it’s okay! Aerith isn’t gonna hurt you.” Cloud moved behind Zack again, though he hesitantly leaned his head over so that he could get a better look at her. Zack sighed and rubbed his neck. “Sorry, he’s kinda shy around new people I guess.”

Aerith obviously wasn’t dissuaded as she quickly came out from behind the counter to go over to them. Cloud leaned back, eyes widened slightly as Aerith leaned towards him with her hands folded behind her back. “Wow, he really is amazing!” Aerith smiled brightly. “Your name is Cloud? It’s nice to meet you, Cloud!”

Cloud blinked a few times, still looking a bit unsure as he stammered. “N-Nice to meet you…”

“Anyway, Aerith…I need to go over to Kunsel’s for a bit, is it okay if Cloud stays over here for a while?”

Aerith, who had been looking at Cloud’s ear pieces with fascination, stood up straight to give Zack a slightly annoyed glance. “Is that the only reason you came over? So I could baby-sit?”

Zack groaned, putting his hands together in a pleading position. “Aw come on Aerith, don’t be like that! Cloud can help you around the shop too and it’s just for a few hours!”

Aerith laughed in response, shaking her finger at him. “Just kidding, just kidding. Of course I can, Zack.” She looked to Cloud, who was beginning to come out from behind Zack to glance around the shop. “You don’t mind helping for a little while, do you Cloud? I won’t make you work too hard.”

Cloud looked over at Aerith then at Zack, who chuckled in response. “You don’t have to look at me before you answer, you know.”

Cloud glanced back at Aerith. “Yeah…that’s okay with me.”

Aerith clapped her hands together. “Great! I actually needed some help today. I got a little behind on orders so an extra person is just what I need.” Aerith took Cloud’s hands in her own. “Thank you so much, Cloud!”

Zack looked on with a smile as Cloud’s faceplates reddened slightly. “You’re welcome.” He murmured.

“All right! I’ll see you guys in a little bit.” Zack turned with a wave and began to walk towards the door but was stopped when he felt a tug on his shirt. He glanced back at Cloud, who was holding onto the fabric. “What’s wrong?”

Cloud frowned. “You’re coming back, right?”

Cloud’s question was so sincere, so dejected-sounding, that Zack felt completely taken aback. “W-What…? Cloud, I—Come on, are you being serious?” Cloud looked to the side, his expression even more depressed. “Hey, hey, hey! What’s that look for?” Zack reached over to gently ruffle Cloud’s hair. “Of course I’m coming back, dummy. I just said I’d be back in a few hours, right?” Zack smiled gently. “I promise.”

Cloud’s hesitation seemed to slowly melt away and he gave a small smile in return. “You promise?”

“Yup! So don’t worry about it, okay?” With one last hair ruffle, Zack turned towards the door again and made his way out. “See you guys later!”

Aerith waved cheerfully. “Bye bye!” She turned her attention to Cloud, who was giving a small wave of his own, even after Zack was out the door and out of sight. “So have you ever done any flower arranging, Cloud?” Cloud eventually stopped waving, turning his attention towards Aerith. She didn’t miss how nervous the robot still seemed around her, despite their introductions.

“No, I-…I haven’t done anything like that.”

“Well…” Aerith rolled up her sleeves then reached behind the counter to grab an extra apron that matched her own (with a flower logo and all), cheerfully putting it on a very confused-looking Cloud. “Then there’s no time to lose!”

***

“And then you just clip the ends of the stem like that and it fits in the vase just fine!” Aerith looked over at Cloud, who was staring at the rose flower arrangement in amazement. “Do you understand a little better now?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah. I think I do.”

It had been an hour since Zack and left and, much to Aerith’s relief, Cloud was slowly but surely starting to come out of his shell. Aerith hadn’t interacted with many humanoid model robots before, so she wasn’t exactly sure how she was supposed to act around them or how they were supposed to respond. To her surprise, talking with Cloud didn’t feel much different from talking to a shy, introverted person, so she just treated him like she would any other human being.

Though, she had to admit, she had never met another person (besides herself) who seemed to show such a vested interest in the flowers in her shop. Cloud seemed so fascinated by all of the flowers that Aerith couldn’t help but find it endearing.

Aerith watched as Cloud carefully picked up a bunch of roses and baby’s breath. “That’s right- Oh!” Aerith gasped in surprise and Cloud’s smile immediately turned into a frown as the flowers were crushed in his grip. The robot turned and looked to Aerith, half-panicked. “I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry! I—…” Cloud dropped the now-crushed flowers on the ground and stepped back, staring at them in horror. “I…killed them…” 

Aerith looked from the flowers to Cloud, who was still staring at them with an anguished expression. “Cloud…” She said gently. “It’s okay, it was just an accident. Just be more careful next time, okay?”

“I…” Cloud quickly shook his head. “I don’t want to touch them anymore. I’ll just kill them again.”

“Cloud…” Aerith frowned slightly then offered him a smile. “It’ll be fine. I know you won’t hurt the flowers this time.”

Cloud glanced at Aerith, his expression doubtful. “You don’t think I will?” He looked down at his hands, clenching them. “Okay, I’ll-…I’ll be more careful.” Cloud nodded resolutely then slowly reached towards another bunch of flowers. Aerith was amazed at how slowly Cloud moved and how deeply concentrated his expression was as he picked them up. Cloud was being so careful that his hand barely closed around the stems. Then, after waiting a few seconds just to make sure he hadn’t accidentally hurt the flowers, he picked up the scissors Aerith was using and trimmed the stems. 

“See?” Aerith smiled brightly as Cloud put the flowers in the vase. “I told you it would be fine.” Cloud let out a sigh of relief then looked to Aerith with a tentative smile.

“Yeah…Thanks, Aerith.”

“Hey, Aerith!” Both Cloud and Aerith looked to the door as a new customer came in. “Have you got my order all ready?” He asked with a grin, though it faded slightly as he glanced at Cloud. “Since when are you rich enough to buy a humanoid robot helper?”

Aerith shook her head. “Oh no, he’s the one that Zack fixed up last week. He’s just here helping today.”

“Oh, I see.” He shrugged slightly. “So have you got it? You’ve got it, right?”

“Be patient! I have it right here.” Aerith turned to the fridge, grabbing a beautiful bouquet of lilacs from it and handing them to the man. “You’re certainly in a hurry today!” She smiled wryly. “Are these for your special someone?”

The man blushed furiously. “Maybe! I—…I have to go!” And with that the man hurriedly paid and left, still blushing to the tips of his ears. Cloud watched the door in silence for a few seconds before turning to Aerith. “Special…someone?”

Aerith nodded, giggling. “It’s so fun to tease him about it. He bought the flowers for their first date here too.”

“What does it mean?” Cloud tilted his head slightly. 

“A special someone?” Aerith asked, to which Cloud nodded. Aerith tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Hm, how do I explain…well…” She put her hands together. “It’s the person you love more than anyone else, really. They’re the person that you’re happiest with and that you feel the most comfortable around. Also it hurts to be apart from them and to see them sad but when you see them smile, well…that just makes you so happy that you could burst!” Aerith laughed lightly. “Sorry, I don’t think I’m explaining it very well. Are you starting to understand, though?”

Cloud stared at her with wide eyes, nodding slowly. “Mm-hm.” He reached down, picking up one of the roses that had fallen on the floor and began to gently play with the petals, his expression pensive as he seemed to become lost in his own thoughts.

“A…‘special someone’…”


	6. Gear Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack and Kunsel's investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit longer but hopefully you all still enjoy it. I really appreciate all the comments/kudos and reblogs :D Even if I don't have time to reply to the comments right away they still make me grin like an idiot.

**To: Kunsel**   
**I’ll be at your place in a few minutes**

After typing the message Zack began to put his phone back in his pocket. He hesitated for a moment then switched over to check his email for what felt like the 30th time. Of course, there was still no reply from the person who sent him that picture of Cloud.

Zack sighed and shook his head as he put his phone away. “Don’t know what I expected…” At the time, Zack had immediately replied to that email with one of his own:

**SOLDIER? What the hell is that? And how do you have this picture?!**

“Maybe I should’ve been more polite but who the hell sends a weird cryptic message like that?” Zack muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. He knew he was getting some strange looks from some of his fellow pedestrians for talking to himself but he couldn’t bring himself to care too much about it at that particular moment. Not when he felt his steps beginning to drag the closer he got to Kunsel’s apartment building.

_Why do I keep getting a worse and worse feeling about this?_ Zack frowned, rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, whatever I find, Cloud is still Cloud after all.”

Feeling a bit better after his declaration, Zack was able to look up and greet Kunsel with a smile when he came out the door. “Hey! Surprised that I’m actually here when I said I’d be?”

Kunsel gave a light smirk. “Yeah I am, actually.” He glanced behind Zack. “So you actually didn’t bring him, huh?”

“Yeah, I left him with Aerith for the rest of the day.” Zack gave a small shrug. “I thought it’d be less lonely for him than staying home all day.”

Kunsel’s eyebrows drew together in a mix of curiosity and disbelief. “He gets…lonely?”

“Yeah, I mean, there was one time that both me and Angeal were gone shopping for like a half hour and when we came back Cloud wouldn’t stop clinging onto me for—” Zack paused. “What’s with that face?”

Kunsel, whose eyes had been gradually getting wider, shook his head. “It’s not really anything. I mean, I believe you, but…” Kunsel began to walk down the street and Zack had to jog after him to catch up. 

“But what?” Zack asked.

“It’s just…” Kunsel glanced over at Zack then straight ahead. “They’re not **supposed** to get lonely.”

Zack immediately frowned. “Not supposed to? The hell does that mean?”

“I mean, humanoid models aren’t supposed to need to be around people. They’re supposed to be able to copy our gestures and everything but they’re not supposed to **actually** feel lonely or sad or anything like that. You get what I’m saying?”

Zack felt his heart begin to beat faster and he knew it was more than just their quick walking speed that was causing it. “He does, though. I’ve seen him get scared and I’ve seen him be in pain and…” Zack trailed off, remembering Cloud’s soft smile as he had touched his scars. “I’ve seen him happy, too.” He added quietly.

They stopped walking when they got to the main government robotics building, which was a daunting structure that Zack always felt slightly uncomfortable about when he passed. Kunsel seemed fine working here, though, so he always just shrugged it off as a weird paranoia or aversion to skyscrapers since he was originally from the countryside.

“Not saying I don’t believe you, Zack, but I think I might wanna see it for myself” Kunsel said as he swiped his keycard at the door, which opened with a soft “click”. After quickly glancing behind him, Zack followed Kunsel in.

“What are you trying to—” Zack replied loudly but quickly stopped as Kunsel turned to him with an exasperated expression, holding his finger up to his lips. “…Oh.” Zack winced as he heard his voice echo down the barely lit hallways. Zack looked around, taking in the metallic walls and ceiling. “Jeeze, talk about gloomy.” He said in a softer tone.

“Well, the interior decorating might need some work, but it pays well.” Kunsel shrugged and began to head towards a flight of stairs. “Come on, the computer room is over this way.” 

“Computer room?” Zack questioned though quickly followed after him. “You guys get a whole room to— GAH!” Zack screamed as he practically tripped into the arms of a tall, though very still, woman. “Shit I’m sorry! I didn’t…” Zack stopped as he stared at the woman, who was still staring blankly ahead. “Uh…” Zack waved his hand in front of her face. “Hello?”

“Zack!” Kunsel hissed, running back over to his friend. “Do you think you could stop making such a huge scene for like five minutes?” Kunsel sighed, moving the woman’s hair to reveal a circular ear piece underneath. “It’s just one of the humanoid models we use at the reception desk, dumbass. We turn them off at night to save power.”

Zack let out a relieved sigh. “Oh…whew. Scared the shit out of me.” Zack followed Kunsel back over to and down the staircase, sticking a bit closer to him this time. “But wait, you turn them off? Isn’t that…kinda weird for them?”

“Weird? Why? Don’t you turn Cloud off when you’re not using him?”

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “No, I mean…he goes into sleep mode and plugs himself in at night but that’s about it.”

Kunsel made a thoughtful “Hm” sound. “Well, I guess it did take nearly a whole block’s power supply to make him turn on that first time.”

Zack didn’t respond. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t exactly sure why he didn’t ever really turn Cloud off.

_It just would feel…wrong. Plus what if I wasn’t able to get him to turn back on?_

The thought of never being woken up by Cloud again or never having to clean up another mess the robot made filled Zack with such an intense feeling of loss that he had to physically shake it off. To distract himself from the thought, he glanced up and down the hallway as he went down the last stair. There was a large sign pointing to the left that said “Research Department” and another that pointed to the right that read “Information Department”. Kunsel took a sharp right and Zack followed after him. 

“So the research department is just in the basement here? For some reason I thought it would be bigger.” Zack remarked.

“I dunno. I’ve never seen what it’s like in there but I do see the head of it skulking around sometimes.”

“Skulking?” Zack looked to Kunsel, who was swiping his keycard to open a door labeled ‘Computer Lab’. “That sounds kind of creepy.”

Kunsel grimaced, keeping the door open to let Zack in then softly closing it behind him. The room was filled with rows and rows of PC’s, along with a large shelf with every kind of AI programming and coding manual Zack could ever imagine. “Yeah, he kind of is. If you ever talk to Professor Hojo all he ever does is sneer at you like he thinks he’s that much better.” Kunsel took a seat at one of the end PC’s, waiting for Zack to pull up a chair next to him to turn it on. “I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with him, I heard that he drives everyone in the research department pretty hard.”

Zack glanced around absentmindedly. “Uh huh…”

Kunsel gave him a flat look. “Zack were you even listening to what I was saying?”

“Huh? Definitely! I was definitely listening…” Zack pointed at the computer screen, which was now asking for an account log in. “So we can access the government robotics database on this thing, right?”

Kunsel, fighting off the urge to push Zack off his chair, finally nodded and typed in his password. “Yeah. From what I could tell from that email, SOLDIER must be the name of a brand or design that Cloud came from. The IT department keeps track of all the robotics companies out there and anything the research department’s been working on so it should be in here.”

Zack’s eyes widened in amazement. “Huh? You could tell that? How?!”

Kunsel shook his head. “Why else would he have that label on his chest, Zack? Seriously, use your head for five seconds.”

Zack gave him a pout that went largely ignored. “Well excuse **me** ” He glanced around again as Kunsel began typing into the database search engine. “So the AI programming people work in here too?”

“Yeah but I think the people from the research department have their own AI programming lab since I never see them in here.”

“Heh, that’s one thing I definitely don’t know how to do. I can fix and build stuff just fine but when it comes to the programming—” Zack was interrupted by the sound of Kunsel swearing under his breath. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s…this can’t be right.” Kunsel adjusted the screen so that Zack could see it better: there were 0 results listed for the search for ‘SOLDIER’. “This database should be completely up to date.”

Zack frowned, scratching the back of his head. “Maybe it stands for something and we have to search for that?”

“Maybe— The heck?” There was a soft rustle from the direction of the door, causing Zack and Kunsel both to stand up in alarm. “Did you hear that…?” Kunsel whispered.

“Yeah…” Zack muttered before walking towards the door.

“Zack…!” Kunsel hissed. “Why are you going **towards** it?”

Zack ignored Kunsel as something much more interesting on the floor caught his attention. “This wasn’t here before, was it?” He bent down to pick up a slip of paper on the ground near the door. He hesitated for a moment then quickly pressed his ear to the door. He thought for a second that he heard the sound of footsteps moving away but after a few seconds they were gone, leaving nothing but an eerie silence. 

Kunsel was fidgeting nervously. “You hear anything?”

Zack shook his head. “No. Maybe for a second but…it’s gone now.” Zack walked back over to the computer, turning his attention to the piece of paper in his hand. “Either we missed this when we came in or…”

“…Somebody slipped it under the door.” Kunsel muttered, looking paler by the second. “Zack, I don’t know if this is such a good idea anymore.”

“Relax, Kunsel” Zack replied. For some reason he was feeling less nervous than he knew he should, especially with the presence of some mysterious other person in the building. “If they wanted to do something to us, they could’ve just come in and done it.” Zack sat down again, showing Kunsel the paper. “Look, it looks like some sort of…report or something.”

Kunsel took the paper, reading the title out loud. “The…SOLDIER Project?” Kunsel quickly looked at Zack then back at the report. Unfortunately there were only a few lines on the page:

**The SOLDIER Project**   
**Status: Funded**   
**AI programming to begin within the next month.**   
**Discussion: Strength vs. Speed functions.**

“That’s it?” Zack tilted his head, frowning disappointedly. “That doesn’t really give us much to go on.”

“Zack, don’t you get it? The SOLDIER program…the date on this is from last year and look!” He pointed to the government emblem in the corner. “If this is really a government project then you basically stole government property by taking Cloud home!”

Zack folded his arms. “Well that still doesn’t change the fact that they threw him **out**. If he was part of some big government robotics project, then what was he doing in the trash?”

Kunsel sighed, rubbing at his temples. “I don’t know…”

“Here, at least see if there’s anything on the other side.” Zack grabbed the paper from Kunsel, turning it over to reveal two words scribbled there in red ink. 

**R_Tuesti**  
 **44733**  
“Not sure what we’re supposed to do with this, but—” Kunsel began but was interrupted when Zack moved over him to begin typing on the keyboard, logging out of Kunsel’s account. “Hey, what gives?”

“Maybe this is the username and password for someone who would have access to something like this. If SOLDIER is a program funded by the government, maybe they don’t want just anybody to see any info they might still have about it.” Zack quickly typed in the first word as the username and the second as the password, grinning triumphantly when the computer logged in. “Nice!”

Kunsel stared at the screen. “Well damn…Guess you have some good ideas sometimes, huh?”

Zack’s grin didn’t falter “Heh, more like I have some good ideas all the time.” Kunsel rolled his eyes with an amused smile then moved Zack back over so he could type again.

“All right, let’s see if I try searching for any documents or anything under this account…Aha!” After typing in “SOLDIER” into the computer’s search bar, several files popped up. Kunsel’s face fell, however, when he clicked on the first file only to receive an “ERROR: CORRUPT FILE” notification. 

Zack’s face fell slightly as well. “Corrupt? Shit…Try the next one?”

Kunsel clicked on the next file only to receive the exact same message. They continued on, both growing increasingly frustrated as each and every file they tried ended up being corrupt and completely unusable. After a few minutes, Zack was pushed to the breaking point.

“What the hell was the point then?!” Zack ran his hands through his hair, looking about ready to tear it out. “We got the password and everything’s right in front of us but we can’t **get** it!”

“Zack…!” Kunsel hissed. “Don’t shout, for God’s sake…Look, there’s one last file I can try.” He paused. “It’s an audio file though…dunno how helpful this is gonna be.” Nevertheless, he clicked on it. The both of them nearly fell out of their chairs when the file actually opened and began to play.

“It actually worked…!” Zack gasped, only to be silenced by a “Sssh!” from Kunsel. He turned his attention back to the screen, listening carefully as a male voice began to speak.

**“Is this this recording?”** There was a pause. **“Right, good. Well then…Day 175 of the SOLDIER experiments. Prototype 1.57, activated yesterday, still seems to be functioning well. Though…”** There was a soft chuckle. **“I guess I can ask him that too. So how are you feeling?”**

A second voice, which sounded a bit farther away, could be heard. **“I feel…fine. How are you?”**

Zack nearly jumped out of his chair. “That’s Cloud…!” Zack shook Kunsel’s shoulder. “Kunsel, that’s Cloud’s voice!”

Kunsel pushed Zack away, trying to keep him sitting still “I know, I know, Zack…!”

The man’s voice began to speak again. **“I feel, uh… fine, thank you for asking.”** The man cleared his throat. **“Physical trials will most likely begin within the next week, as long as he continues to function well. His learning processes also continue to progress just as fast, if not faster, than expected. If this continues, then—”**

Suddenly, an older and rather unpleasant sounding voice could be heard outside the door. “I don’t care what I said before, I’m telling you what I’m saying now!” Both Kunsel and Zack whipped around, Kunsel automatically pressing the “Pause” button on the audio player. 

Zack’s stomach felt like lead as he heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway getting closer and closer. He turned to Kunsel, who looked just as panicked as he felt. “I thought you said no one would be here today.” He whispered.

“There wasn’t supposed to be anyone…I have no idea why Professor Hojo’s here, but I don’t wanna be caught in a dark room with him. Especially not with someone who’s technically supposed to not be in here…” Kunsel replied under his breath, quickly logging out of the computer and turning it off.

Zack was about to reply but stopped when he heard the voices stop just outside the doorway. Both he and Kunsel ducked down behind their chairs, barely breathing.

“I’m sorry Sir, we just—”

“I already told you I don’t care about your excuses! Input those orders to any one of the models from the Turk line, I don’t care which one. Now are you going to keep staring at me like an idiot or are you going to do what I say?!”

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll get on it right away…”

Zack grimaced, feeling sorry for whoever had the bad luck to be taking the brunt of that rant. Kunsel was right about one thing: Hojo sounded like a slave driver.

The both of them held their breath as the footsteps began to move farther away, finally letting out a sigh of relief when they disappeared completely.

“Let’s get out of here.” Kunsel murmured. Zack nodded in agreement, stuffing the report in his pocket. 

Carefully, Kunsel opened the door to the hallway. After double checking to make sure no one was coming, he waved at Zack to come over and the two of them quietly began to walk up the stairs. When they were halfway up, there was suddenly a loud slam of a door farther down the hallway behind them. They looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“Run for it?”

Zack nodded quickly. “Run for it…!” And with that the two of them ran as fast as they could up the rest of the stairway, through the lobby and out the door without a second glance back. They even continued running down the street, only slowing down and stopping after the building was no longer in sight.

Zack leaned against his knees, panting for breath, while Kunsel leaned against a nearby building.

“Damn…” Kunsel wheezed. “I don’t think I’ve run that fast in a long, long time. But I don’t think we got caught at least.” Kunsel paused then looked over at Zack when he didn’t get a reply. “Right?”

Zack’s head felt like it was swimming, though not because of all the running. “Speed vs. strength…Physical trials…” Zack ran a hand through his hair, beginning to pace in front of Kunsel. “What the hell could all of that mean? And that was definitely Cloud’s voice in that recording, right? So he’s some sort of…prototype?” Zack let out a groan of frustration. “Damn it, I feel like I even have more questions now!”

Kunsel stood up straight, having finally caught his breath. “I’m starting to wonder now…especially with the fact that Cloud’s strength is so abnormally high.” Kunsel glanced back towards the street. “Maybe Cloud’s supposed to be some sort of…weapon?”

“Weapon?” Zack looked at Kunsel in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? **Cloud**?”

Kunsel held up a hand. “I’m not saying that’s definitely it, Zack, but think about it. Why else would they be putting him through physical tests?”

“I dunno, maybe to do search and rescue stuff? Carry heavy things? Seriously, Kunsel, if you could see how he acts you’d put that thought out of your mind. He freaking **hid** behind me when I took him over to meet Aerith.” A bright electric tune suddenly could be heard from Zack’s pocket. He took his cell out, smiling lightly when he looked at the screen. “Speak of the devil.” Zack flipped open the phone, holding it to his ear. “Yo, Aerith. What’s up?” He paused as she began to speak. “Uh huh. Right. Yeah I’m fine…No I’m not out of breath! Yup. Yeah…So he’s doing okay?” He laughed softly. “Okay. You can tell him I’ll be back in 10 minutes. Thanks.”

Zack snapped the phone shut. “Cloud’s been helping Aerith make flower arrangements but now he’s starting to wonder when I’ll be back. Come on, once you see him, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

Kunsel sighed, obviously having given up. “Okay, okay.”

The two of them began to walk again, side-by-side. “By the way, you’re not gonna get in trouble, right?” Zack looked to Kunsel, a light frown on his face. “I feel like we were kind of looking at some classified stuff, there…”

Kunsel shrugged. “Probably not. If they wanted they could search through who used their key card to get in the building that day, but it’s not like we stole anything. There’s no reason to look for that. Plus, if they ask, I can just say I was trying to get some extra work in so I wouldn’t be behind on Monday”

Zack brightened slightly. “Right.”

Kunsel went quiet for a few seconds. “Zack, have you ever…asked him?”

“Huh?”

Kunsel looked to Zack, his expression more serious. “Have you ever just asked him if he has that emblem on his chest still? And if he knows what it is?”

Zack glanced to the side. “I-…I dunno. I haven’t thought to ask.” That was a lie. Ever since he had seen that picture he had kept wanting to ask Cloud about it but for some reason was never able to find the right time or place to say something.

Kunsel seemed to realize that Zack was avoiding that train of thought. “Well, you should. He might have remembered more than he’s letting on, you know.”

Zack just nodded in reply and became lost in his own thoughts.

What if Cloud had started to remember more and just hadn’t told him?

After a little over 10 minutes, the two of them had arrived at Aerith’s flower shop. Zack went to open the door. “Yo, Aerith, we’re back! Where’s—Woah!” There was little more than the quick tapping of Cloud’s metal feet against the floor to warn Zack before he was suddenly lifted up in the air and into a tight hug. “Cloud?! Hey…!” Zack laughed, patting Cloud’s head once he had gotten over his initial shock of being picked up. “Well it’s nice to see you too”  
Aerith came up behind them, shaking her head. “I’m glad you got here, he was about to go running out the door to look for you.”

Zack blinked at her then down at Cloud. “Look for me? Why?”

Cloud eventually put Zack down on the ground but didn’t release him from the hug. Instead, he pulled the mechanic even closer and pressed his face against his chest. “You’re 2 minutes and 26 seconds late”

Zack tilted his head slightly. “Huh?”

Cloud peeked up at him, frowning. “I thought something had happened to you.”

“Oh…because I wasn’t exactly 10 minutes in getting here?” Zack let out a slightly exasperated laugh and ruffled Cloud’s hair. “Look, sometimes people aren’t exactly on time…especially me. Maybe we should get you a phone or something so you can just call me instead of freaking out.” Zack paused thoughtfully. “Or maybe there’s a way for you to connect to mine without having one.” He glanced over in Kunsel’s direction. “What do you think?”

Kunsel, in the meantime, had been staring at the two of them with his mouth ajar. It took him a few seconds to answer Zack and, even then, it didn’t seem like he was really paying attention. “Huh? Oh yeah, sure…I’ll send you an email about how to set that up.”

“Great, thanks.” Zack looked back at Cloud, finally noticing his flower apron. “Oh jeeze, Aerith even gave you the uniform, huh?”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Aerith asked, giving Zack a pointed glance and causing him to immediately backpedal.

“What? No, no! Of course not! Heh…” Zack rubbed the back of his neck, working on making sure he didn’t dig himself a deeper hole. “Anyway, we should probably get going.”

Aerith smiled at Cloud, who was holding onto Zack’s arm. “Okay. You can come back and help me any time you want to though, Cloud.”

“Really?” Cloud asked, taking a moment to glance up at Zack, who just grinned and shrugged in response, before he gave Aerith a soft smile. “I’d like to.”

Kunsel looked at Cloud in a way that made it seem as if he finally was beginning to understand something. “You really liked taking care of the flowers, huh?” 

Cloud nodded, taking off the uniform and folding it into a neat square before putting it on the counter. “Yeah, it’s really…” Cloud paused as he searched for the word “…calming.”  
Aerith clasped her hands together. “Oh, I almost forgot! As a thank you for helping me…” She disappeared behind the counter, popping up a few seconds later with a handful of Daylilies. “Here, as a ‘Thank You’ for helping me today!”

Cloud hesitantly reached towards her, pausing just before taking the flowers. “They’re…for me?”

Aerith nodded cheerfully. “Yup! I thought these suited you the most.”

Zack put a hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh. “They definitely suit him, since they’re the same color as his hair.”

Cloud gently took the flowers, running a thumb along one of the petals with a smile. “Thank you, Aerith.” After saying their good-byes, Kunsel, Cloud and Zack all walked out of the shop and began to head down the road. Kunsel shoved his hands in his pockets, seeming to be unable to take his eyes off of Cloud as the shorter robot kept a careful hold on his flowers.

“Those are really nice, huh? We can put them in a vase when we get home, okay?” Zack looked down at Cloud, his smile brightening when he received a small smile from the blonde. When they reached a fork in the road, Zack turned to Kunsel. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later. Be careful going home, okay?”

Kunsel nodded, though he still looked preoccupied as he chewed on his bottom lip. Zack tilted his head slightly. “What is it?”

Kunsel let out a small sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing, just thinking. Look, I’ll do some digging around when I go into work tomorrow so hopefully we’ll be find out more about…” He glanced at Cloud, who was crouching down and trying to get a small cat behind a trash can to approach him. “…you know.” 

Zack tensed slightly and nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

Kunsel turned to walk towards his street but paused. “…And you were right, by the way.”

Zack tilted his head slightly. “About…?”

Kunsel gave a light, knowing smile. “I haven’t seen any other humanoid model act like that, Zack. He’s definitely…different.” Then with a wave he was gone before Zack had the chance to make him explain any further.

“Jeeze…” Zack rubbed the back of his head. “I wish people would stop being so vague, sometimes.” He turned to Cloud, who was frowning as the cat quickly turned and ran from him. “Come on, Cloud.”  
Cloud quickly hopped back up again and immediately went to Zack’s side. As they walked back to the shop, Zack noticed that Cloud was becoming slightly tense and refused to look anywhere besides the flowers Aerith gave him. 

_Okay, this is it. I seriously need to ask him if he knows anything…I mean, it wouldn’t hurt, right?_

Zack opened the door to the shop, stepping inside. Just as Zack was taking a breath to ask, Cloud suddenly turned to him with an earnest expression. “Zack!”

Zack leaned back slightly, coughing to try and hide his agitated his expression. “U-Uh yeah? What’s up?”

Cloud glanced to the side, his face plates beginning to darken. “I-…Here.” He held up the flowers that Aerith gave him up to Zack, lowering his head even more. 

Zack blinked in surprise. “The…flowers? You want me to put them in the vase right now? Well, I mean, I was going to anyway but—”

Cloud quickly shook his head, the red on the metal face plates darkening even more. “No, they’re….I’m…giving them to you.”

Zack stared in silence, his glance shifting from Cloud’s face to the Dayliles. “…For me?” He asked softly and Cloud nodded quickly in response. “I-…” Zack began but just ended up trailing off. He took the flowers from Cloud, looking at them in silence before glancing up back up at the robot. A smile crept on his face as he saw how fidgety the robot was becoming. 

_He’s just so damn cute…_

“Heh, well…Thank you, Cloud.” He reached down to gently ruffle Cloud’s hair. Much to his surprise, Cloud leaned up into the touch, causing a slight blush to appear on Zack’s cheeks. He let out a slightly nervous laugh, though he wasn’t sure what was causing him to feel so jumpy in the first place. “Well, we better put these in water soon anyway…I’ll go grab something, okay?”

“Okay.” Cloud replied, his bright smile causing Zack’s blush to deepen even farther. He quickly turned and walked up the stairs to his apartment, focusing on finding a suitable container as a way to distract himself. In all the confusion, he had completely lost the nerve to ask Cloud about the email he had received. 

_Well…I guess there’s always tomorrow._


	7. Gear Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack opens one too many doors.

The next day ended up being so busy with customers and custom-orders that Zack wasn’t really able to get a moment alone with Cloud until the evening. Zack had just finished taking a shower and was sitting on the couch with his laptop, half-pretending to work on something and half-watching Cloud out of the corner of his eye. The robot was crouching down in front of the windowsill, moving the glass with the Daylilies in it a few inches over to the right before changing his mind and moving it back over to the left again. This had gone on for about ten minutes total.

“Cloud…” Zack began, turning more so that he was completely facing the other. “What are you doing?” He smiled as Cloud scratched his cheek with a slightly sheepish expression.

“Angeal said that flowers like this need to be in direct sunlight, so I was trying to calculate the best angle for it to get the optimum amount of light throughout the day…” Zack began to laugh, causing Cloud to look more embarrassed. “What?”

Zack tried to stop his laughter so he could talk, eventually managing to take a few deep breaths and wipe the tears from his eyes. “Sorry, sorry…I’ve just never seen anyone spend more than a few seconds putting a plant someplace. As long as it’s in the window its fine, Cloud. Plus you’ve changed that thing’s water like five times today…you need to relax.”

Cloud’s metal plates flushed slightly as he slowly went to take a seat next to him on the couch. Zack glanced back at his laptop, opening his email without really thinking about what he was doing. Glancing back over at Cloud, he saw that the robot’s body posture was stiff and he was fiddling with his hands in his lap.

“What’s wrong, Cloud? You doin’ okay?”

Cloud nodded quickly, glancing to the side. “Um, do you—…” He trailed off, seeming to lose his courage.

“Do I…what?”

“…Do you like them?” Cloud hesitantly turned to face Zack. “Is it okay that I gave you the flowers?”

Zack blinked. “Huh? Okay? Of course it’s okay you did…Why wouldn’t it be?”

Cloud just shook his head. Zack sighed lightly when he realized he wasn’t going to be getting any more out of him. “Well, anyway…Angeal said you were pretty curious about the different kinds of plants he has in his office. If you want, we could get some more flowers or cacti or something from Aerith’s next time I go over there or you go and help her out again.”

Cloud immediately perked up at that. “Really?”  
Zack grinned in response to the shining expression on Cloud’s face. “Of course! This place could use some brightening up anyw- Hey! Cloud!” Zack flailed as he tried to keep his laptop from slipping to the ground as Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack’s chest in a hug. Zack laughed, moving his laptop back onto his lap with one hand and putting the other around Cloud’s neck. “Watch it, be careful!” He looked down at Cloud, unable to stop himself from staring into those shining blue eyes of his. “I don’t wanna have to ask Angeal for a raise to buy another one of these.”

Cloud leaned his head against Zack’s shoulder, muttering a “Sorry”. Zack laughed lightly in response and was about to say ‘Don’t worry about it’ but found himself unable to say anything as Cloud’s arms tightened slightly around him. Zack swallowed and quickly looked back at his computer screen in an effort to distract himself.

_What the hell am I getting so nervous for? I mean, it’s not like he’s doing anything weird…_ Zack glanced at Cloud’s face, which now had a small, but contented, smile as he watched the screen. _…Right?_

“Oh right, I almost forgot…” Zack started, trying to start a new train of thought in his mind before the current one got too off the rails. “I meant to ask you something yesterday, Cloud.”

Cloud glanced up at him. “What is it?”

“You wouldn’t happen to…” Zack paused, unsure of where to go now that he started. “…happen to remember anything about where you came from, would you? From before I found you at the scrap yard?” Zack glanced down at Cloud, who was now staring off to the side with a pensive expression. Zack frowned lightly when the robot didn’t answer right away. “Cloud?”

“…No. Not really.” Cloud muttered and Zack felt himself grow suspicious as he saw how Cloud was now doing is best not to look towards him.

“Well…okay. Would you mind looking at something then?” Zack clicked open the old email from the mysterious correspondent, opening up the picture of Cloud with the SOLDIER tattoo. “Cloud—” Zack turned the screen so that it was completely facing Cloud. “This is you, right?”

Zack felt Cloud tense against him as he stared at the picture with wide eyes. “I—…”

_Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea._

“Cloud?” Zack sat up straight as Cloud pulled away slightly, still staring at the photo with a lost expression. “Hey…Look, I’m not trying to have an interrogation here, just—Cloud?!”

All at once Cloud stood up and away from Zack, his hand moving to his head with a pained expression. “I— It’s me, but…I…”  
Zack set the laptop down and closed it quickly in an effort to prevent Cloud from getting more upset. “But what?” Something in the back of his mind told him that he was pushing too hard but he found himself unable to stop as some of the worries that had been planted in his head since yesterday began to spill out. “Cloud, I don’t want there to be any secrets here, okay? If you remember something, you really need to tell me! Do you still have that tattoo on your chest?”

Cloud turned his head away, his one hand still dug into his scalp. “Y-Yes…but it’s—”

“It’s what?” Zack moved to close the gap between him and Cloud. “Can I see—”

“No!” Cloud shouted, causing Zack to freeze in surprise. The robot grabbed clenched the fabric of his shirt in the chest area, exactly where the tattoo would be. He took a step back, his eyes darting between Zack and the floor. “I-I…I mean…” He stammered looking more uncomfortable by the minute. Zack was struck with a sudden feeling of guilt as he saw the tormented look on Cloud’s face.

_Shit, did I really go too far?_

Zack held up his hands in an effort to put the robot more at ease. “Okay, okay, I get it. I don’t have to see it…Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you so—…”

Cloud shook his head, his hand still clenched in the fabric of his shirt. “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything…” He replied softly.

An awkward silence fell between them. After a few seconds Zack finally spoke, rubbing the back of his head uneasily. “Look, Cloud, I—” Zack sighed. “Well, you’re probably wondering how I got that picture in the first place, huh?” Cloud glanced at him, telling him without words that he was interested. “Well, remember when I posted about you on that forum? That’s the response I got from somebody, asking me if I ever heard of SOLDIER.” Zack watched as Cloud began to stiffen again. “He didn’t give me any other clues so Kunsel and I looked in the government database yesterday to see if we can find anything and, well…” Zack shook his head. “I’m worried that there’s something kinda…dangerous, going on, you know? So if you remember anything, then…”

“I understand.” Cloud interrupted. Zack tried to get a look at the expression on the robot’s face, but was stopped as Cloud turned his back to him. “Sometimes when I’m in sleep mode I get flashes, but they…don’t make any sense, so…” Cloud lowered his head. “I didn’t mention them before. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to cause trouble for anyone, or make you worried. I don’t want to put anyone in danger either…”

“Cloud—“

“I’m…going to go downstairs to finish cleaning up.” Cloud hurried down the stairs, leaving Zack in the living room.

Zack was able to tell from that that Cloud wanted to be alone for a while, but when he noticed that the robot had been in the shop for more than twenty minutes without any sounds coming from downstairs, he concluded that he was purposefully being avoided. Zack’s suspicions were confirmed when he finally went to bed and, after lying very still, he finally heard the sound of Cloud’s footsteps on the stairs.

_I guess he was waiting for me to go to sleep._ Zack sighed, shifting slightly and closing his eyes. He managed to drift off after a few seconds despite all the thoughts running through his mind.

***

“No, don’t…stop! Stop! It hurts!”

Zack’s eyes flew open, quickly adjusting to the darkness as he moved to sit up. Oddly, his blankets were covering him completely, despite the fact that he remembered falling asleep on top of them.

“…Cloud?” Zack rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had merely dreamt the cries from the other room.

That thought was soon put to rest as Cloud suddenly began to scream. From his bed Zack could see the robot begin to writhe on the couch, his hands pressed against his ear pieces.

“Cloud!?” Zack shot up from the bed, running over to the couch and kneeling next to him. “Hey, Cloud! What’s wrong?! Hey…!”

Oddly, Cloud’s eyes were still closed, despite the fact that his face was now contorted in pain as he thrashed from side to side. _Is he still asleep?_ Not stopping to consider whether or not robots were supposed to dream, Zack immediately went to grab Cloud’s hands in an effort to stop him from hurting himself. “Cloud, wake up! Cloud…!”

This only seemed to upset Cloud more as he began to thrash around even harder, his eyes still closed. “No, no, don’t…don’t! Please! Please…!” He managed to pull a hand out of Zack’s grip and grabbed the charging cord attached to his ear, ripping it out in one swift movement. “Cloud!” Zack shouted, moving to grab Cloud’s hand again. Cloud reacted, blindly punching towards Zack and hitting his shoulder with as much strength as he could muster. Zack grunted in pain, barely managing to keep ahold of the robot’s other hand. Luckily for Zack, Cloud apparently had a decreased amount of strength while in sleep mode. Otherwise, he most likely could have ended up with a broken arm.

_Shit, that’s gonna bruise…_

“Cloud…!” Zack pulled Cloud into a tight hug, silently hoping that he wouldn’t come to full strength while in this state. “Cloud, it’s me! It’s Zack!”

Cloud suddenly stopped moving, going limp in Zack’s arms. After a moment his eyes opened, his pupils contracting and dilating, the soft blue glow returning to them as he slowly began to become more aware of his surroundings. “Z…Zack…?” He choked out softly. “W-Where…”

“Upstairs, in my apartment…” Zack pulled away slightly so that he could get a better look at Cloud, who was staring at him with a dazed expression. “Cloud, are you okay?” Zack frowned worriedly, moving his non-injured arm to run a hand through Cloud’s hair. “You were screaming and thrashing around like…something was hurting you.”

Cloud leaned forward, resting his forehead against Zack’s shoulder. Zack winced internally when Cloud unintentionally put weight on where he was hit but did his best not to show it. He didn’t want to make Cloud more upset than he already was.

“I…kept seeing flashes.” Cloud started, closing his eyes wearily. “I was in a lab, there were wires everywhere, in my ear pieces and…I was being punished, I think.”

“Punished?” Zack questioned, moving his hand to thread through the back of Cloud’s hair. This seemed to comfort Cloud slightly as Zack felt his body relax more against his.

“I think. I’m not sure what it was for, but…suddenly, it felt like the wires were burning, everything…everything hurt…” Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack’s waist and Zack could feel the robot begin to tremble slightly. “They weren’t going to stop but then…then you woke me up.”

Zack’s throat went dry and he swallowed quickly in an effort to let himself talk. “Y-Yeah…” Zack moved his chin to the top of Cloud’s head. “Yeah, you’re safe now. Nothing’s gonna hurt you, Cloud.”

Cloud’s grip tightened in response. The both of them stayed like that for a little while, Zack either being too tired or too upset to think of anything to try and say.

_Those had to be memories from before, right? Who knew that he could have night terrors like that…_ Zack glanced down at Cloud, who had his eyes open again as he blankly stared down at the ground. _Well, I guess whether or not he’s supposed to or not supposed to have them isn’t important now._

Out of the corner Zack saw the clock on the coffee table flashing in bright green: **4:05**. Zack sighed lightly. He would definitely need to go back to sleep soon if he expected to be functional for work in three hours.

“Cloud…” He started. “Do you think you’ll be okay now? Can you go back into sleep mode?”

“I—” Cloud looked hesitant. “Um…”

That was enough for Zack.

“Well, how about if you sleep in my bed for tonight? I dunno if the plug will reach that far but you’re charged enough, right?”

Cloud immediately relaxed, hugging Zack again. “Y-Yeah…I’ll be fine.”

In the back of his mind, Zack wondered if inviting the robot to sleep in the same bed with him was strange. If other people knew that he was doing this, wouldn’t they think he was taking it a little too far?

But the other option, which was leaving a terrified Cloud alone while he went back to bed, was completely out of the question.

Slowly, Zack made it back to bed with Cloud still half-clinging onto his arm. Once he went to lie down, Zack immediately scooted to the edge of the bed to give Cloud more room. That proved useless, however, as Cloud scooted as close as possible to Zack, lying on his side so that he could face his press against his chest.

Zack laughed softly, though there was a nervous edge to it. “What are you doing there? Don’t you want to have some more room?”

Cloud shook his head. “This way I can hear Zack’s heartbeat.”

Zack flushed slightly, turning his head to the side. “W-Well…Whatever makes you feel better is okay with me.”

_What am I doing? What am I suddenly getting so jumpy for?_

Zack reached over and began to gently run his fingers through Cloud’s spikes, partially to provide a sense of comfort to the robot and partially to distract himself.

_I mean, even if he does act like this…He’s still a robot, right? I mean, wouldn’t all of this…wouldn’t this just be his programming?_

Zack watched as Cloud’s facial features became more relaxed the longer he kept petting the blonde’s hair.

_Just programming…_

Eventually Cloud relaxed completely, closing his eyes as he entered sleep mode.

_And I’m just taking care of him like a good robot owner is supposed to. He’s my responsibility after all, so that’s it. That’s what I’m doing._

Zack watched Cloud for a little while, looking for any signs of more night terrors in the robot’s expressions. He felt relieved when he didn’t see any signs of terror or pain like before.

_That’s all it is…right?_

***

The next morning, Zack awoke to his face squished up against Cloud’s, who was still in sleep mode. Yawning, Zack sat up and took a look at the clock. It was about ten minutes before his alarm was supposed to go off, or Cloud was supposed to prod him out of bed.

_Damn, I hate getting up before that goes off._ Zack reached up to stretch, wincing when a pain shot through his right shoulder. He pulled the collar of his sleep shirt down to check on it, grimacing at the large black and purple mark that had spread to his bicep.

_Guess I was right about that leaving a mark…_

Zack glanced at Cloud to make sure he hadn’t suddenly woken up and seem him looking at his shoulder. No matter what he didn’t want Cloud to know what he had done. He was sure that the robot would react negatively, even though it had just been an accident.

_But what were those nightmares about last night?_ Zack yawned again, combing his spikes down with his fingers to rid himself of any bed-head. _Flashbacks from before? Was the government doing something to him? Was it the SOLDIER program…?_

Zack frowned, remembering Kunsel’s words from the other day. _Either way he’s too gentle to have been any sort of weapon. Even if that would make the most sense, I still can’t imagine it._ Zack brushed a hand through Cloud’s hair. “You’re just Cloud, the flower-loving robot.” A smile settled on Zack’s lips as a soft whirring began, indicating that Cloud was exiting from sleep mode as his eyes opened.

Unlike earlier that morning, this time Cloud was much calmer when he woke up, though he did look confused upon seeing Zack sitting up. “You’re awake? Did I miss my alarm…?”

Zack shook his head with a grin. “Nah, I actually just woke up for once. How about you? Are you feeling okay?”

Cloud nodded, smiling lightly. “Yeah.”

“All right!” Zack clapped his hands together then hopped off the bed, doing a few squats to warm up. “Let’s get the day started then!”

***

The rest of the day proceeded normally with Cloud helping Zack and Angeal finish a few leftover projects from the previous day. Zack was relieved to see Cloud acting like his usual self as well, giving him hope that maybe last night was just a one-time thing.

Things began to get off track, however, when Angeal noticed that Zack was using his right arm less and less as the day went on.

“What’s wrong, Zack? Do you have a cramp?”

“Huh?” Zack looked up from trying to attach a wheel to a long metal leg. It wasn’t going very well, since he was trying to use his left hand. “What do you mean?”

Angeal pointed at Zack’s right hand, which he was keeping in his pocket. “You’ve been using your left arm more today. Something wrong?”

“Uh, I…” Zack laughed nervously, catching Cloud looking at them from across the shop. “It’s nothing, I think I mighta strained something earlier.” Zack braced himself as Angeal began to get the “worried parent” look on his face and he knew he was in for a lecture.

“Zack, you know workplace safety is important. I know you’re young and you say you’re fine with getting cut but it’s best to do your job when you’re feeling 100%. Why don’t you go put a cold compress on it for a while?” Angeal smiled lightly. “I don’t think I’m that much of a slave driver that I would want you to work while you’re hurt.”

“Ahaha, yeah, I’ll just…go take some pain killers real fast.” Zack put his tools down and hastily stood up, doing his best to walk upstairs to his apartment as casually as possible while at the same time trying to be quick about it. He grimaced when he heard the sound of Cloud’s metal feet behind him.

“Zack, what’s wrong? Is your shoulder okay?”

Zack glanced back at Cloud, flashing him a grin before heading into the bathroom. “Yeah, I’m fine! Don’t worry about it, okay? You should probably go back down—”

“But you’re holding your right arm strangely.” Cloud interrupted, standing right next to Zack as he rummaged through the medicine cabinet. “What if it’s something serious?”

“Cloud, I said its fine already— Ow!” Zack winced, moving his other hand to grip at his shoulder after he accidentally bumped it against the wall, sending a sharp pain running all the way down to his fingers.

Cloud’s eyes widened and he immediately went to try and get a better look. “Do you need to go the hospital? What if it’s gotten worse now? Maybe it’s broken or infected or…” Cloud reached to roll Zack’s right sleeve up.

“Cloud, hey, it’s okay, really…it’s fine—” Zack tried to gently pull away from the blonde but was unable to get free before Cloud managed to pull the fabric up to reveal the large, dark bruise. Cloud froze at the sight of it, his hands still clenched in Zack’s shirt.

“Zack…What…what happened?”

Zack shrugged away, moving to pull the fabric back down over his shoulder. He offered Cloud a nonchalant smile. “I…guess I bumped it last night or something. It’s okay though, really! It looks worse than it actually is.”

Something seemed to click it Cloud’s brain. “Last night?” Cloud put a hand on his forehead, his eyes wide as he struggled to remember. “But last night, you—” Cloud stopped, his eyes beginning to widen in horror. “…It was me. I did that…I did that to you.” He looked at Zack with a grief-stricken expression. “Wasn’t it?!”

Zack held up his hands, trying his best to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control any further. “Hey, hey, don’t look like that Cloud…Okay, so maybe you might’ve accidentally whacked me when I was trying to wake you up but it was just an accident! And I’m fine, really…!”

Cloud began to slowly back away, shaking his head. “No, I…I hurt you…”

Zack immediately moved to close the gap between them, putting his hands on Cloud’s shoulders. “Cloud, hey, listen! I’m telling you it’s okay, okay? Accidents happen sometimes, it’s not a big deal!” Cloud moved his head to the side, silently staring down at the ground with a miserable expression. “Cloud?”

Cloud’s eyes drifted even further towards the ground as Zack tried to look at them directly. “I…I’ll go…go help Angeal now…” He murmured, turning away from Zack before walking out of the bathroom and back down the stairs.

Zack sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he watched the robot’s retreating form. _Maybe I should leave him alone for a few minutes…_ Zack leaned back against the sink, grabbing a bottle of painkillers and popping one in his mouth. _I mean, I made it pretty clear I wasn’t mad at him, right?_

After the medicine finally kicked in, Zack headed back down towards the shop. He paused when he only saw Angeal and no sign of Cloud.

“Angeal…” Zack started, beginning to feel more uneasy by the second. “Where’s Cloud?”

“Hm? Oh, he asked if I needed any deliveries done today so I sent him a few blocks over to deliver a circuit board for one of our customers.” Angeal frowned as Zack’s eyes began to widen. “What’s wrong? I figured it would be all right since it’s so close…Plus he has that updated GPS software that you installed in him the other day.”

“Yeah, but—!” Zack ran a hand through his hair, trying to keep his voice from sounding as panicked as he felt. “But what if…someone tries to take him or something?!”

Angeal’s eyebrows drew together. “Take him? Zack, he’s not going to be further than 15 minutes away…besides, half of the errands and deliveries people do nowadays are done by robots, so…”

“No, I mean…his original owner, or…!” Angeal stood up, moving to put a comforting hand on Zack’s shoulder.

“Zack, if you’re that worried about him, you could just call him, remember? You’re the one that was talking to Kunsel about wirelessly connecting him to your cell phone so he could call you or vice versa.” Angeal watched Zack curiously. “Besides, if his original owner was planning on taking him back I figured that would have happened by now.” Angeal paused, giving Zack a more probing look. “Unless there’s something that you’re not telling me, Zack.”

“No, no…I’m just…you know, worried! He’s my responsibility, right?” Zack gave Angeal a quick grin, though that didn’t seem to do anything to dissuade Angeal’s suspicions. “I’ll just call him real quick.” Zack turned away from Angeal’s penetrating stare and pulled out his cell phone.

Luckily, wirelessly connecting to Cloud had been as easy as Kunsel had made it out to be. After pressing the quick dial button plus “7” (Zack had just picked that number on a whim) the phone was ringing. After two shirt rings Zack heard Cloud’s voice on the other end.

**”Yes?”**

“Hey! Cloud, it’s me, I was just making sure you were uh…doing okay.” Zack winced at how lame that ended up sounding.

There was a pause. **”I’m…fine.”**

“Right, right, I thought as much…Just wanted to make sure you weren’t lost or anything!” Zack did his best to sound cheerful. “And hey, listen, you know I’m not mad at you or anything, right?”

Cloud paused again, longer this time. **“I’m…Sorry, I need to go, I’ll be back soon.”** Zack started to say something else but stopped as Cloud’s voice was abruptly replaced with a dial tone.

Zack sighed and stuck his phone back in his pocket.

Well, the sooner that Cloud got back, the sooner he could show Cloud he had nothing to feel guilty about and the sooner they could put this whole mess behind them.


	8. Gear Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you make someone fall in love with you?

“Three blocks straight then turn to the left…” Cloud muttered under his breath, the long package from Angeal clenched tightly in his hands. He went over the directions in his head the entire time he walked through the city streets, which seemed much more intimidating now than they did when he had walked to Aerith’s shop with Zack. 

_Though that’s probably because Zack was with me._

Cloud grimaced as the image of Zack’s bruised shoulder flashed through his mind and he had to stop himself before he gripped the circuit board too hard and broke it. Angeal probably wouldn’t like it if he broke something for a customer, so he definitely had to be careful. He had already caused enough damage today…too much damage, if he was to be honest.

Trying to focus on the task at hand, Cloud glanced at the numbers along each door that he passed. Just as he was starting to worry that he had missed a turn, he spotted the name and number Angeal had given him and quickly knocked at the door. Cloud nervously glanced at all of the unfamiliar faces that passed him by, feeling a slightly sense of relief when the door finally opened to reveal a middle-aged woman. 

“Yes, can I help…” Cloud noticed as her eyes focused on his ear pieces and, most likely, the metal plates underneath his eyes. Cloud had to resist the urge to cover up the plates with his hands as her gaze turned more suspicious “…you?” 

“Uh, I’m here to deliver the…the circuit board you had repaired.” The nervousness in Cloud’s voice was more apparent near the end of his sentence as he awkwardly glanced to the side and held out the package towards her.

“Oh, I see…I didn’t realize Angeal had gotten a humanoid model.” The woman’s face relaxed and she even gave a light smile. “Usually Zack’s out doing the deliveries for the shop on that motorcycle of his. Oh, well, I guess we all have to update sometime.” 

Cloud wasn’t sure why the woman still made him uneasy. Maybe it was because the way she smiled was different than Zack or Aerith. Or maybe it was because of the way she was looking at him: differently than she would have looked at Zack if he were here, or any other human.

Cloud bowed his head, remembering what Angeal and Zack would always say to customers. “Thank you…for your business.” With that Cloud turned and, without looking back, began walking down the street. He hadn’t gone farther than a block before he suddenly stopped in front of an alleyway, completely frozen.

_I…can’t go back yet._ The image of Zack’s bruise flashed through his mind again, though this time it was followed by Zack’s pained expression. Cloud began to tremble slightly.

_My special someone…I hurt my special someone…_

What happened if you hurt your “special someone”? Would you lose any chance of being with them? Zack said he wasn’t angry but…If Cloud was able to hurt him, didn’t mean that he didn’t deserve to be with Zack at all?

Should he even be allowed to be near Zack again?¬¬¬

“If you stand around like that, lad, someone’s gonna think you’ve broken down!”

Cloud was jolted out¬¬ of his thought. He quickly looked around, feeling uneasy when he didn’t see anything besides a practically abandoned street. Was his hearing starting to malfunction?

“Hey, not up there. Down here!”

Cloud looked down towards the alleyway, blinking a few times when he saw a black and white cat wearing a cape and a crown. 

“A…cat?” Cloud rubbed at his eyes to make sure they weren’t malfunctioning. After looking back and seeing the exact same cat he was confident that he wasn’t hallucinating, at least. “I…didn’t know cats could talk.”

Cloud was pretty sure cats couldn’t talk, anyway, at least from the ones he had seen. Then again, he hadn’t seen any cats wearing clothes or standing on two feet either.

The cat shook a finger at him. “Ah, now that’s not a very nice way to introduce yourself now is it! You could at least ask what my name is and tell me yours!”

“Oh, I…” Cloud still wasn’t sure what to make of the cat but knew that it was usually better to not be rude. “…I’m Cloud.” He tilted his head slightly, watching the cat’s expressions curiously. “Who are you?”

“Ah dearie me, that really is your name now is it? Well, I guess it can’t be helped…The name is Cait Sith!” Cloud cautiously walked towards the cat, who held out his hand in greeting. From what Cloud remembered, this indicated that he wanted to shake hands. “Nice ‘ta meet you!”

Slowly Cloud reached down and shook the cat’s hand. “Nice…to meet you too.”

“There, now that we’ve introduced ourselves, we can be proper friends now can’t we?”

Cloud tilted his head slightly. “Can you be friends with someone that you just met?”

“’Course you can! Unless you can think of a reason not to be.”

Cloud paused thoughtfully. He couldn’t think of anything that Cait Sith had done to make them enemies so, by that logic, there was no reason they couldn’t be friends.

“I…can’t think of anything.”

“Ya see?” Cait Sith leaned up and elbowed Cloud in what he assumed to be a friendly way. “We robots have ta stick together now, don’t we?”

Cloud’s eyes widened slightly. “You’re…a robot too?” One of Cloud’s hands automatically went to his right ear piece. “But you don’t have…”

“Ah, now, I would be looking a bit silly without normal cat ears now, wouldn’t? It’s just you humanoid models with those.” Cloud tried to imagine the cat with ear pieces like his and couldn’t help but agree with Cait Sith. He really would look odd. “Or didn’t you know that?”

Cloud shook his head. “I haven’t talked to any other robots…not that I can remember anyway. Angeal mainly works on parts for ones that look squarer and don’t really have mouths or faces.” Cloud paused, glancing to the side. “Zack said that I was the first humanoid model he’s worked on.”

“Ah, I see…So that boy just fixed you right up now, did he?” Cait Sith rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You don’t know that much about yourself at all, do ya?”

Cloud shook his head silently. Cait Sith had hit on a sore spot, one that had been starting to bother Cloud ever since Zack had shown him that picture of himself. There were flashes, sure, of a strange green laboratory, wires and an odd old man laughing above him, but little else that was useful. He had no idea what he had been built for or what he was supposed to be able to do.

There was one thing he remembered, though. Something that he was reminded of every time he saw the markings on his chest. The SOLDIER tattoo that Zack had so badly wanted to see was barely legible now, hidden underneath the scars on his skin. Cloud couldn’t remember who had scratched out the SOLDIER label or when but he knew what those scars represented: He was a failure, nothing but a throw-away piece of trash. 

That was why he couldn’t show Zack. If Zack saw those marks then he would know what a disappointment he was and would probably end up regretting he had ever fixed him.

“I just know that I was…broken.” Cloud was unable to look away from a certain spot on the wall, even as Cait Sith jumped on top of a trash can to get more on eye-level with him. “I was a failure, so I got thrown out.” Cloud unconsciously clenched at the fabric over his chest. “That’s all that I know.”

“Hm…” Cait Sith crossed his arms as he looked at Cloud. “Well, I don’t know how much I can say about all that, but if you have any questions I’d be fine with answering a few!” He added cheerfully.

“Questions?” Cloud blinked then checked his internal clock. He had been gone for about 20 minutes and probably should have gotten back 5 minutes ago. 

_But I still…can’t face Zack yet._

Pushing any feelings of guilt at his own cowardice aside, Cloud asked the first question that popped into his mind. “Do you know if any other robots…if they’ve found their special someone?”

Caith Sith tilted his head, staring at Cloud with a baffled expression. “A ‘special someone’? Now I don’t know about that…I can’t think of any other robots that have found something like that!”

Cloud frowned. “Then, I can’t…”

“Hold on now!” Cait Sith raised a hand. “Just because a robot **hasn’t** found a special person before doesn’t mean they **can’t**. Heck, you could be the first one if you wanted! Now, are you askin’ because you’re looking for one or…is there somebody ya have in mind?”

Cloud felt his face plates begin to darken. “There’s…someone I’m thinking about.”

Cait Sith grinned triumphantly. “Aha! Now that’s the ticket! I guess the big question is: Do they feel the same way about you?”

An unfamiliar, cold feeling settled in Cloud’s chest. For a moment, he wondered if he was starting to malfunction but nothing else seemed to be going wrong. “I-…” Cloud started but then trailed off. “He-…I don’t…” Cloud’s eyes slid to the ground. “I don’t think he does.” He answered softly.

“Hm…” The cat tilted his head slightly with a thoughtful frown. “Now that might be a problem. It’s not any good if the other person doesn’t feel the same way. Is there somebody else he likes?”

Cloud shook his head. “I don’t think there’s anyone else. Plus I haven’t told him…what he is to me.”

“Well, everything’s not so hopeless now then, is it?” Cloud raised his eyes to look up at Cait Sith, who was grinning again. “All ya have to do is romance him, make him fall in love with you and then…ta-da!” Cait Sith jumped in the air, startling Cloud. “Now you’ve got a lovey-dovey happy time!”

Cloud’s eyes widened. “Make him fall in love with me?” He frowned. “But I don’t…How do I do that?” 

Zack’s pained expression suddenly flashed through his mind again, plus the image of his shoulder that now seemed burned into Cloud’s memory bank. 

_Is there any way that Zack would fall in love with someone who hurt him like that?_

Cait Sith didn’t seem to notice Cloud’s sudden change in mood. “Well now, I would like to teach ya all about the art of love but I don’t have enough time, unfortunately! But I’m sure there’s plenty about romance in all those movies and books girls and boys love to get absorbed in.” The cat hopped back down on the ground, adjusting his crown slightly. “I’ve got to be on my way now but I’m sure you’ll be able to do your own research now, wontcha?”

Cloud stared down at the cat, slightly flabbergasted. “I-…Uh…”

“Great! Well good luck, Cloud, I’m sure you can do it! And I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again, especially if you need any more advice!”

And with that the cat was off down the alley way, leaving Cloud with a jumbled up mix of thoughts and emotions. 

_Research…_ Cloud turned and began to slowly walk back towards the shop. _Maybe if I do enough of it, I can figure out how to become Zack’s “special someone” too._ He frowned as the odd cold feeling in his chest returned. _Hopefully it’s not too late._

***

By the time Cloud got to the shop, it was over 20 minutes after the time that he was supposed to return. Cloud knew that Angeal probably wouldn’t be that angry but he still felt a strange hesitation and fear at facing him after not doing his job 100% correctly. He wasn’t sure where that came from, since he had been treated with nothing but kindness since he had been at the shop.

_Maybe it’s from…before._

Cloud quickly shook his head to rid himself of the thought and forced himself to finally open the door and head inside. “I’m back.” He called out softly. After a few seconds of dread, Cloud was relieved to see Angeal come out of his office and not Zack.

“I’m glad to see you back, Cloud! I was starting to wonder if you got lost.” Cloud searched Angeal’s features for any sign of anger or irritation but was reassured to only find concern and curiosity.

“I got…distracted. I’m sorry.” Cloud bowed his head slightly but then raised it again when Angeal chuckled lightly. 

“It’s all right. If I got mad every time Zack got distracted I think that my blood pressure would be sky high by now.” Angeal smiled casually. “Speaking of which, he just left about five minutes ago to look for you.”

Cloud’s eyes widened. “For me? Why?”

“He was starting to get worried when you hadn’t come back and got too impatient to try calling you again, so he set off himself.” Angeal paused as he took notice of the hesitant look on Cloud’s face. “Did something happen between the two of you? Zack was acting odd when I told him I had sent you on that delivery…Not that you have to tell me, if you don’t want to.” Angeal added as Cloud grew visibly more uncomfortable.

“Well, that— I—…” Cloud slumped, finding himself unable to keep his thoughts hidden for much longer. “It’s…my fault.” Cloud’s gaze shifted to the ground. He couldn’t look Angeal in the eye for any longer. “I hurt Zack. He couldn’t use his arm well today because of me.”

There was a long pause before Angeal spoke again, though his tone was still even. “Because of you?”

“I-I…was having a nightmare and then…before Zack woke me up, I guess I—…” Cloud felt so ashamed at this point all he wanted to do was crawl in a dark hole and never come out. “I hit him…in his shoulder…and gave him that huge bruise.” 

Cloud’s voice was barely above a mumble by the time he got to the end of his sentence. He turned towards the door, having suddenly lost what was left of his courage, and probably would have left the building again if Angeal hadn’t managed to grab his arm. Cloud tensed but didn’t make any effort to escape. 

“So that’s why you suddenly wanted me to send you on an errand. Because you saw Zack’s shoulder when you went upstairs with him?” Cloud gave a small nod as he stared at the ground. “I see…Well. If you did it while you were asleep, that means you didn’t do it on purpose, right?”

Cloud looked up at Angeal, eyes wide in horror. “N-No! I would never hurt Zack on purpose…!”

“Then it was just an accident.” Angeal smiled lightly and let go of Cloud’s arm. “You shouldn’t feel this guilty about an accident, Cloud. And I’m sure Zack isn’t mad about something like that either. Despite everything else about him…he is one of the most forgiving people I’ve ever known.”

“But I…” Cloud glanced to the side. “I don’t know if I…deserve to be forgiven.”

“Well…” Angeal folded his arms. “Have you asked him for forgiveness?” Cloud shook his head slowly. “Then I think that’s a good place to start.” He smiled gently, putting a hand on Cloud’s shoulder. “You don’t know if someone will or won’t forgive you unless you apologize first.”

Just as Cloud was about to reply they were interrupted by a door slam and a shout of “I’m back!” that could only belong to one person. Cloud clenched his fists tightly, fighting the urge to run away again. “Z-Zack…” Cloud whispered under his breath.

Angeal gave him a knowing smile. “I guess you’ll be able to find out sooner rather than later.”

Zack burst in the shop, rubbing his arms. “Damn it’s getting cold out there…Shit, Angeal, I couldn’t find him anywhere! Now he’s either lost or—!” Zack stopped short as he saw both Angeal and Cloud standing in front of him. Cloud reflexively looked to the side, though after a second hesitantly glanced at Zack to look at his facial expression. 

To his surprise, Zack suddenly burst into a wide grin and immediately rushed over to Cloud, pulling him to a hug. “There you are! It feels like I’ve been looking everywhere…! Where the heck were you?!”

Cloud leaned into Zack’s chest, allowing the teenager’s warmth to spread over him. Despite his guilt, he couldn’t help but indulge in the almost addicting feeling of being held. “I…got distracted…” He muttered, forcing himself to meet Zack’s eyes as the other looked at him worriedly. 

“Distracted, huh? Jeeze, I know I was the one who was telling you not to get too worried about people being a little bit late and then I go freaking out. I guess it’s good you weren’t lost or…anything else though.” Cloud noticed the slight strain in Zack’s smile. He wasn’t always sure what that meant but it always made it him slightly worried when he saw it.

Cloud’s gaze flickered to Zack’s right shoulder then back to his face. “Um, is your…” He glanced down, his voice growing softer. “Is your shoulder okay?”

Zack tilted his head in the way that Cloud found so endearing. “My— Oh!” He frowned lightly, his eyes full of concern. “Cloud, of course it’s okay. All I had to do was take some pain killers and it feels perfectly normal!” 

Cloud had doubts that Zack was being absolutely truthful with him, especially when he analyzed the angle at which Zack was holding it. It obviously still hurt him at least somewhat.

“Well, I have some office work I have to do. Zack, you can handle the front for a little while, right?” Angeal interrupted, giving Cloud a knowing look before turning to head back into his office. 

“Huh? Oh sure, no problem.”

Cloud felt his body tense as he prepared himself. Angeal was right. If he didn’t at least apologize, there was no way to know.

“Um, Zack, I’m…” Cloud started, his eyes now seemingly glued to the floor.

“Hm?” Zack turned his attention back to Cloud, smiling curiously. “What’s up?”

“About your shoulder, I’m…” Cloud finally forced himself to meet Zack’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Zack’s eyes widened in surprise. “Cloud…” He went silent for a few seconds after that and Cloud suddenly felt the urge to run away again. Before he could do anything, however, Zack’s face softened into a gentle smile that Cloud couldn’t help but get captivated by. “Aw Cloud, you don’t have to beat yourself up over it anymore, okay? I know it was just an accident.” Zack reached over to gently ruffle Cloud’s hair and Cloud had to stop himself from leaning into the touch too much. Cloud couldn’t exactly explain why but whenever Zack touched him he felt amazingly happy.

_This must be part of having a ‘special someone’ too._

But he couldn’t get distracted. He had to be sure that Zack had accepted his apology, even though Cloud couldn’t quite settle on whether he deserved to be forgiven or not.

“So it’s all right?” Cloud asked. “You…forgive me?”

Zack grinned. “Of course! Just promise not to keep guilting yourself over it, okay?”

Cloud looked to the side hesitantly. He knew that saying “I promise” was important and that he wouldn’t be able to break it if he did. 

_Even though I hurt my “special someone”…_

But Zack was looking at him so earnestly and seemed so happy to see that he was back that maybe it was okay. Maybe he could forgive himself this once as long as he made sure it didn’t happen again.

With that resolution in mind, Cloud nodded with a light smile. For some reason that Cloud couldn’t quite figure out, whenever he smiled it seemed to make the smile on Zack’s face grow even bigger. 

“Yeah, I promise.”

***

“Zack….Zack! Wake up!”

Zack sat up out of bed, still mostly asleep despite having been woken up by a pair of hands gently shaking his shoulder. “Hu-…Nhwhatis it?” After rubbing his eyes a few times, his eyes adjusted to the darkness enough to see Cloud standing by the side of his bed, looking panicked. “Cloud? What…what’s wrong? Did you have another nightmare or something?”

_That’d be weird, though. I thought he stopped having those since he started sleeping in my bed._

Zack didn’t want to think too hard about how it might look to other people to have a humanoid model robot sleep in his bed, not once, but multiple times now at this point. After a few days of Cloud sleeping in his bed every night, the couch had mainly been forgotten, especially since he was able to find a cable long enough to extend all the way from the outlet to his room.

Cloud didn’t say anything and simply grabbed Zack’s hand, pulling him out of bed and towards the living room. Zack stumbled slightly, yawning and combing a hand through his hair as Cloud suddenly stopped in front of the window. It must have been close to when Zack normally would have woken up, since he could see the sun beginning to peek over the horizon.

Zack stretched his arms up over his head. “Okay, okay, I’m up…Now you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” 

“I woke up early to change the flower’s water and it was like…this.” Cloud gestured at the glass, which held a now-wilted bunch of Daylilies. Zack’s gaze shifted from the flowers to Cloud’s distraught expression. “What should I do?!”

“Cloud…” Zack started. This had to be worse than a parent explaining a dead goldfish to their kid. “Cloud, there’s not really anything **to** do at this point. I mean, it’s…y’know…” Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “Dead.”

Zack winced at the bluntness of his words, especially as Cloud’s face became even more heartbroken. “Dead?” Cloud looked between Zack and the flowers. “They, but I— I thought I was…I thought I was taking care of them…” Cloud crouched down, taking a closer look at the glass. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Cloud— Come on, don’t be like that. Of course you didn’t do anything wrong! I mean, with flowers, they don’t always last a long time when you pull them out of the ground and put them in water. I mean, hell, these ones only really lasted so long because you were taking such good care of them!” Zack offered a smile, though it faded slightly as Cloud didn’t look any more consoled. 

Cloud looked to the side. “So...they were always going to die? No matter what I did?” 

“Yeah, but, I mean…that doesn’t mean it’s not worth having them or taking care of them, right? I mean, all living things are gonna die eventually.”

Cloud quickly looked away from the flowers and at Zack, his expression becoming more disturbed. “All…all living things?”

_Shit, I’m not awake enough to start having an “All things die” discussion with Cloud right now…_

Zack ran a hand through his hair, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. “Yeah, it’s kind of part of life, ya know? Everybody gets older and dies eventually.”

Cloud took a step towards Zack, staring up at him gloomily. “Everybody? So Angeal and Aerith and Zack…” Cloud looked down, obviously beginning to get lost in his own thoughts. “Zack will eventually die.”

Zack put his hands on Cloud’s shoulders, leaning down slightly with a smile. “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t start getting gloomy, okay? That’s not gonna happen for a **long** time, okay! A really really long time!”

Cloud looked up at Zack, still frowning. “Really?”

“Yeah! Hell, even Angeal will probably be around for like another 100 years or something, that guy’s so damn stubborn.” Zack pulled Cloud into a gentle hug, which was quickly reciprocated. “So don’t get all sad about it now, okay?” Zack put a hand on the back of Cloud’s head. “Listen, why don’t we go to Aerith’s and get you a potted plant after work? Like a flower or a bush or something? Those usually last a lot longer than something stuck in a glass of water…Hell, a cactus or something like that’ll last years!” Zack pulled away slightly so that he could get a better look at the robot’s face. “Okay? How does that sound, Cloud?”

Cloud avoided his gaze at first but then, after a moment, looked up towards him.

Zack nearly flinched at the sadness in the robot’s eyes. And, just for just a second, had one of the strangest thoughts to ever cross his mind.

_Maybe if I kissed him, that would make him smile._

Zack nearly jumped in shock, though did his best to keep a cool front in front of Cloud. _What? Kiss him?! Zack, you really need to start getting a better night’s sleep or something, you’re really starting to lose it…Where the hell did that even **come** from?!_

“Okay.” 

Zack was shocked out of his increasingly disturbing train of thought. “H-Huh?”

“I said ‘Okay’” Cloud replied. “About going to Aerith’s shop, I mean…” 

“Oh, right! Of course, of course.” Zack smiled quickly. “We’ll go there after my shift today and you can pick out any plant you want, okay?”

Cloud gave a small smile in return. “That sounds good.”

***

“Well, Aerith said this one’ll last for years as long as you replant it ever 2-3 years so, looks like you picked out a good one, Cloud.”

Zack grinned at Cloud, who was happily carrying his new Christmas Cactus in his arms. “I liked the name too.” The robot added, smiling fondly at his plant. “Is it really okay for me to have this?”

“Of course! Like I said, you can have even more plants in the apartment if you want.”

_The place might end up looking like a jungle but…as long as it makes Cloud happy._ Zack watched Cloud’s content expression, trying to keep his mind from going back to the thoughts from that morning.

_I was probably just tired. Everyone knows you don’t have your mind straight for the first few minutes after you wake up, right?_

Zack shivered as a particularly strong breeze blew through. “Damn, I should’ve worn my jacket. I can’t believe it’s Fall already— Cloud?” Zack looked over as the robot slipped his arm through Zack’s and moved closer.

“I can run some more of my processes to help keep you warm.” He muttered, pointedly avoiding Zack’s gaze. Zack could feel the warmth begin to emanate from Cloud, though that didn’t explain why his face suddenly felt very hot.

“A-Are you sure about that?” Zack laughed nervously. “I mean, I appreciate it, but I don’t want you to run out of power.”

Cloud shook his head. “We’re only a few minutes away from the shop, so I can just recharge when I get home.”

Zack looked away. “Ahaha, well, if you say so…Thanks, Cloud.”

_Shit, why the hell am I getting so—_

Zack’s thought was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing from inside his pocket. “Huh?” The two of them stopped walking in the middle of an alleyway as Zack reached to grab it. “Wonder if it’s Angeal…” _Or maybe Kunsel found something else about Cloud._

“Hello?” 

To his surprise, a strangely familiar male voice was at the other end. **“Zack, they’ve found your location. You need to get out of there, now!”**

“The hell?” Zack held the phone away from his ear to check the number, which was listed as “Unavailable”. Zack put the phone back to his ear as Cloud looked up at him curiously.

“What’s wrong, Zack?”

“It’s nothing, Cloud— Hey listen, who the hell is this? And how did you get my number?”

**“I don’t have much time to talk. One of the Turks they sent out finally got a read on Cloud and they’re coming to get him…and get rid of anyone standing in their way.”**

“They sent out…?” Suddenly, Zack realized where he had heard that voice before. It was the same one he had heard talking to Cloud on the audio recording he and Kunsel had listened to. “Hey, you’re the one…You’re one of the people who worked on Cloud!” Zack looked around quickly, not seeing anyone on either side of the alleyway. 

**“I’m sorry, I have to go. You just need to get out of there, now!”** The voice suddenly cut out and Zack nearly threw his phone in frustration. “Hey, don’t just—”

“Well, well, well, isn’t this a cute little scene.”

Zack whirled around, Cloud still holding onto his arm as he stared with wide eyes at the source of the new voice. 

A man in a dark black suit that contrasted sharply with his flaming red hair was standing a few feet behind them, his lips curled into a sneer. Zack had no idea where he could have come from, since he hadn’t heard any sound of footsteps behind them.

“What the hell—” Zack started, quickly pushing Cloud behind him as he took a few steps back. “What the hell do you want?!”

The man, who also had bright red tattoos under his eyes to match his hair, pulled out a baton from his pocket, unfolding it into a more intimidating size before idly tapping his shoulder with it. “Who, me?” He smirked as his eyes shifted from Zack to Cloud, who had put down his plant so that he could hold onto Zack’s arm with both hands. 

“Nothing much.” The man pointed his baton at Cloud as his smirk turned menacing. “Just here to do my job.”


	9. Gear Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud's "true purpose" comes to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Boxing Day! :D Wrote the fight scene as best I could under the inspiration of some sweet Undertale tunes.

“Your job…?!” Zack’s eyes flickered between the baton pointed at Cloud and the red-haired man’s face, which was still grinning maniacally. “Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Zack moved his arm in front of Cloud, attempting to shield him as best as he could as he tried to back the both of them up away from the man.

“Just what it sounds like, kiddo. I’m here to take that broken piece of junk back to headquarters with me.” The man tapped his shoulder with the baton, watching in amusement as Zack’s expression quickly shifted from fear to anger. “Oh, went and made you angry now, did I? This might be more interesting than I thought. The name’s Reno, by the way. Not that you really needed to know.” 

Reno began to quickly walk towards the two, causing Zack to change his strategy. With one arm, the teen gave Cloud a push towards the opposite end of the alleyway, holding up the other hand in a fist as he prepared himself for a fight. 

“Run, Cloud!”

Cloud stumbled a few steps before catching himself, quickly turning around to look at Zack with a disturbed expression. “But, Zack…!”

“Don’t argue with me, just do it!” Zack called back.

“You gotta keep your eyes on the prize if you wanna last more than two minutes against me, kid.” Zack whipped his head back towards Reno, who was now standing about an inch away from him. Reflexively, Zack threw a punch towards his face but Reno caught it midway towards his nose smirking. “Oh, so close.” Zack let out a cry as the man began to painfully crush the hand in his grip and attempted to pull it loose. “And yet, so very very far.” 

Reno unexpectedly let go of Zack’s fist, causing him to stumble backwards. Luckily, Cloud came up right behind Zack to catch and support him until he could stand up properly. “Cloud…” Zack grunted, shaking the nearly-crushed hand out as he straightened himself up. “I’m serious, you need to run. This guy obviously means business about taking you back.”

Cloud quickly shook his head. “I can’t, you— you’re going to get hurt, Zack…! I can’t let you get hurt protecting me.”

Reno shook his head. “Oh, he’s gonna get a hell of a lot more than ‘hurt’ the longer this goes on” Reno side-stepped Zack as he attempted to tackle Reno around the waist. “Though you’re right about one thing.” Reno took another step towards Cloud, a cruel smile on his lips. “It is gonna be because he decided to protect a broken scrap heap like you.” He said, poking Cloud right in the middle of the forehead on that last word.

Cloud’s eyes widened in horror. “Because of…me…”

“Would you shut **up** already?!” Zack, who had just managed to stop himself before slamming head-first into a wall, was now aiming a hard blow right at the back of Reno’s head. 

With a shrug Reno crouched down, completely avoiding Zack’s punch without even turning around. “What’s wrong, don’t like to hear the truth?” Before Zack could step back to avoid it, Reno turned around and stood up straight, landing a hard punch right to Zack’s stomach that lifted him up off his feet as he did. “Well, that’s too bad.”

Zack landed on his knees, doubled over as he coughed and desperately gasped for air. “Man, all it takes is one punch for you guys to get on your knees. How about a little bit of begging for mercy while you’re down there?” Reno squatted down, his face inches away from Zack’s. 

Zack slowly raised his head, glaring at the other as he coughed out a reply. “N-No way…”

“Aw, now that’s just too bad now, isn’t it?” Reno raised his baton, about to land a blow on top of Zack’s head, when he was suddenly stopped. “What the—” Reno clicked his tongue in irritation when he looked up to spot Cloud, who was using both hands to hold onto the end of Reno’s baton for dear life. “Well now this is just getting annoying” With a smirk he wrenched the baton out of Cloud’s grip, causing him to stumble forward. “You really think a reject piece of trash like you can do something against me?” Reno struck the side of Cloud’s head with his baton, sending him hurtling into a couple of trash cans. “That’s funny.” 

Reno paused, frowning thoughtfully as he scratched the back of his head. “Well, I guess its okay if he’s kind of damaged when I drag him back, right?”

“You…you bastard…!” Reno turned around just in time to see Zack stumble to his feet, one hand still on his stomach and his eyes alight with rage.

“Aw what’s wrong, kid? Got you all riled up, did I?” Reo idly tapped the baton against his shoulder. “Well, as much fun as this has been for me, I’m gonna get in trouble if this takes too long so…Just lie down and die like a good boy, would ya?” Sneering, Reno ran at Zack again, quickly ducking to avoid a punch then taking a quick swing at Zack’s head with his baton.

Zack was able to lean back far enough to dodge it, surprising Reno enough that he was able spin around and finally land a good kick straight at the side of Reno’s neck. 

This, unfortunately, turned out to be a mistake.

Instead of sending Reno flying like Zack expected, the man barely moved in response and the impact to Zack’s foot made him let out a cry of surprise and pain. It felt like he had just kicked the side of a tall metal pole and all the nerves in his foot felt like they were on fire.

“Heh, nice try kid.” Before Zack could pull away, Reno grabbed the foot against his neck. “But this fight was over before it began.” In one swift movement Reno raised his baton and struck it against the side of Zack’s calf with a sickening cracking sound. 

Zack had never broken a limb before but he was pretty sure that the sudden intense pain that shot through his leg, combined with the decisive “snap” that he heard meant that Reno had most likely broken the bone with one hit. Despite his best efforts he couldn’t stop the scream that escaped his lips, though that was quickly brought to a stop after the baton made a second strike against his face.

Zack was sent flying to the ground face-first, gasping and shuddering in pain from his leg and face. He was pretty sure that his face wasn’t broken, at least, though the blood dripping on the ground and the sudden metal-taste in his mouth meant that he did get hit pretty hard.

_Damn it, what the hell **is** this guy?_

Desperately, Zack tried to push himself off the ground, though when he tried to put weight on his right leg the pain was so sudden and so intense that he fell flat again. 

“All right, I think it’s about time.” Zack managed to raise his head again, his vision slightly blurry as he watched Reno loom over him. “Can’t have any witnesses, ya know? No hard feelings, though.”

Zack’s gaze shifted over to Cloud, who was slowly starting to sit up.

“C-Cloud…” Zack grit his teeth, trying to slow his breathing despite the immense pain. “Cloud you gotta…run…”

Zack’s attention was drawn to Reno again, as the other began to raise his baton.

“Kinda cute that you’re more worried about him, but…this is the end of the line for you, kid.”

***

Cloud’s face hurt and, for a moment, he wasn’t quite sure why.

_That’s right, it was because of him…That man…_

Despite the pain, Cloud managed to turn his head enough to catch Zack running straight at the red-haired man again.

_Zack…Zack…?!_

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything except watch as Zack cried out in pain as he kicked the other man and then, slowly, the baton was raised.

_Zack…Zack…Zack…_

Cloud was able to raise his arm slightly, desperately reaching out towards Zack as the baton came crashing down onto the mechanic’s leg. Then there was blood and Zack was on the ground, a puddle of red forming around his face and his leg bent the completely wrong direction.

_“What’s this coming out of it?! This red stuff…”_

_“Oh, that’s blood. It runs all through people’s bodies so if they cut themselves or get hurt, it’ll end up coming out.”_

Zack was bleeding. Zack was in pain.

And it was all because of him.

_“I mean, all living things are gonna die eventually.”_

_“All…all living things?”_

_“Yeah, it’s kind of part of life, ya know? Everybody gets older and dies eventually.”_

Zack was going to die.

Zack was going to die.

Zack was going to **die**.

“Z-…Zack…” Slowly, Cloud managed to force his body to move.

He was going to stop it.

***

As Reno raised the baton again, Zack reflexively shut his eyes, waiting for the final blow.

It never came.

“W-What the hell?!”

Zack slowly cracked one eye open. He quickly opened both eyes when he realizes that, yes, he was still alive and, no, he wasn’t hallucinating.

“You stupid piece of scrap metal, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

Cloud was standing behind Reno again, though this time he was only holding the baton with one hand. And this time, Reno was the one struggling against Cloud as he tried and failed to wrench the baton from Cloud’s grasp.

Zack stared up at the robot, still unable to believe his eyes. The shock was enough to make him forget the pain in his leg for a moment.

_But his face…What’s wrong with his face…?_

It was all wrong. Cloud’s expressions, which were usually so animated and easily readable, were gone. His face was completely blank and impassive, even as Reno finally managed to yank his baton away.

“You damn hunk of junk, you’ll pay for that!”

But what Zack found most disturbing was his eyes. The beautiful shining blue was gone, replaced by a neon-green that stood out against Cloud’s pale skin. And his pupils…well at first Zack thought he was imagining it but, after staring for another few seconds, he was sure. Cloud’s pupils had turned into slits, making his eyes look more cat-like than human.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Zack forced himself into a sitting position, managing to find a wall to lean against to keep himself upright. At least this way he felt a little less helpless as Reno ran at Cloud, baton raised.

Cloud, still expressionless, easily side-stepped the man. This time, however, Reno wasn’t thrown as off balance. Zack watched in shock as Reno continued his assault against Cloud, who took a step back each time Reno took a swipe at him to easily avoid being hit. 

_He…he doesn’t even look like he’s trying..._

“Damn it, stop dodging already!” Reno cried out and, looking visibly frustrated, put all of his strength into an upward swing of his baton. Cloud stepped back to avoid it just in time though, this time, there was a counterattack. 

In the blink of an eye Cloud had drawn his fist back and struck Reno straight in the face. Zack’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor as the impact let out a loud “crack” and sent Reno flying several feet and skidding straight into the wall near the end of the alleyway.

At first, Reno didn’t move after that. Zack was sure that Cloud had just killed him.

“Shit, Cloud…! Stop it, that’s enough already!”

To Zack’s horror Cloud’s expression was still blank, though he did tilt his head slightly as Reno shakily pushed himself to his feet with a self-depreciating smirk.

“Heh, well…Turns out you didn’t forget your true purpose after all, did you? Maybe **this** is why they want you back.”

_His true purpose…_

Zack remembered his earlier conversation with Kunsel, one that he had tried to forget or push to the back of his mind.

_“I’m starting to wonder now…especially with the fact that Cloud’s strength is so abnormally high.”_

Cloud didn’t respond to Reno’s words. Instead, he crouched down to roll his pant legs up, exposing his metallic legs.

_“Maybe Cloud’s supposed to be some sort of…weapon?”_

Suddenly, the sides of his legs split open, each revealing a long sword that Cloud grabbed. The panels in his legs closed again, leaving Cloud standing with a sword in each hand. He turned to face Reno straight on, who was staring at the swords with increasing nervousness.

“Hey now, that isn’t exactly fair, ya know? I mean, I’m not exactly interested in dying on this job…”

Zack felt his blood run cold. Was this what Cloud truly was? A weapon? 

Slowly, Cloud began to walk towards Reno, holding the swords on either side of him. Then, rather suddenly, he slammed the swords together. They fit perfectly, forming a large one-handed sword that looked too heavy for any normal human to carry, but Cloud lifted it easily as he sprinted towards Reno.

This wasn’t Cloud...This wasn’t the Cloud that he knew.

“Shit—!” Reno raised his baton in an attempt to block but it was too late. Cloud easily sliced through the baton with his sword.

_He’s a…monster…_

“Cloud…Cloud **STOP!** ” Zack cried, his voice hoarse from the effort as he continued to scream, even as the sword sliced right across Reno’s torso. Once again, the man was sent flying to the ground. This time, however, he slumped over motionless after the impact.

“CLOUD!!” 

Just as Cloud looked about ready to take another step towards Reno’s body, he froze.

Zack felt himself trembling all over, a combination of the pain in his leg and the fear that was gripping his heart.

Who was this? This monster…this murderer…Was this Cloud?

Cloud slowly lowered his sword to the ground, finally dropping it with a loud “clang” against the ground. Zack’s eyes flickered to the sword then back to Cloud, who had turned to face him.

His eyes were no longer that strange green color and Zack watched as his pupils slowly shifted back to a more human shape. His eyes once again their normal blue, Cloud looked at Zack, his eyes slowly widening as an expression of complete confusion overtook his face.

“Z-…Zack…W-w-what h-…happened…”

Zack couldn’t force his voice to work. He just stared at Cloud in silence, unable to move or think about what was happening.

Cloud’s gaze shifted to Zack’s right leg, which was still sitting at an odd angle, then to his face, which had blood smeared on it from his nose and mouth. “Y-You’re hurt…I—” Cloud began to move towards Zack, who reflexively shifted away from him and back against the wall, staring at Cloud with terrified eyes. Cloud froze, his hand still outstretched towards Zack. The both stared at each other for a few tense-filled seconds, Zack’s heart feeling about ready to pound out of his chest.

Then, slowly, Cloud’s expression shifted from confusion and shock to one of heartbreaking sadness. “Z-Zack…” He croaked, his outstretched hand beginning to tremble. “I-I’m sorry, please…I don’t- I don’t know what I-…w-what I…” He broke off, burying his head in his hands, his breathing coming out in shaky gasps.

“Cloud…” Zack started, his fear beginning to leave him faster and faster with each passing second. “Cloud, it’s—…it’s okay…It’s okay, Cloud.” Zack raised his right arm, stretching his hand towards the trembling robot. “C-C’mere…”

Cloud, his head still in his hands, shook his head.

“Cloud…” Zack pushed himself away from the wall so that he was sitting up unsupported, still reaching his hand towards the other. “Cloud, it’s okay...It’s okay now. You’re not a monster. You…” Zack swallowed, knowing deep down that what he was about to say was still true. “You’re still Cloud”.

Finally, Cloud lowered his hands, staring at Zack with an expression that looked to be on the verge of tears. Zack’s heart hurt at the sight of it.

Cloud stumbled towards him, finally falling to his knees and practically collapsing onto him. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack’s neck and Zack could feel him trembling violently.

“See…” Zack spoke hoarsely, wrapping his arm around the back of Cloud’s head and shakily petting his hair. “See…It’s okay now…”

Without thinking, Zack glanced over towards where Reno’s body had fallen. What he saw caused him to tighten his grip around Cloud, in a mixture of attempting to protect him and trying to keep him from transforming into whatever… **that** was again.

Reno was standing up, albeit shakily, a smirk still on his lips. “What the hell…” Zack whispered, causing Cloud to turn his head and stare at Reno wide-eyed. “How are you still…”

“Alive?” Reno chuckled, moving the hand that was over his chest to reveal a long slice where Cloud had cut him. However, instead of blood, there were wires and gears sticking out, angrily sparking every few seconds. “Lucky for me, I’m not as easy to kill as you humans.” Reno’s expression suddenly turned less playful. “Though, like I said, I’m not about to die for this job.” He turned and began to limp away from them, pausing for a brief moment. “I will tell you this, kid…You haven’t heard the last of us.”

And with that, Reno continued to walk away until he was completely out of sight, leaving the two of them just as suddenly as he had appeared. Cloud buried his face against Zack’s chest, holding onto the other even tighter.

_Thank god he was just a robot…_

Zack froze.

Just a robot?

_What the hell am I thinking with that?! Cloud…he’s a robot too…!_

“I’m sorry…” Cloud’s voice was so exhausted and weak-sounding Zack suddenly felt the urge to cry.

“Cloud—”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Hey…” Zack looked down at Cloud, managing to offer the robot a small smile. “It’s not your fault, okay?” Zack threaded his fingers through the back of Cloud’s hair, resting his chin on the top of his head. 

“It’s not your fault.”


	10. Gear Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Cloud thinks he deserves and what he actually deserves are usually two different things.

“Zack, you understand that even if you say ‘Don’t worry’ at the beginning of your sentence, that I’m still going to worry after you tell me that you’re in the hospital, don’t you?”

“Hey, at least you knew that I was alive!”

“Well yes, but that’s only because you were **talking** to me on the phone…”

“At least you got a call, all he did was freaking **text** me then he wouldn’t pick up the phone after I called him!” Kunsel had his arms folded, tapping his foot nervously as he glared at Zack.

“Well they had to take me in for radiographs, they wouldn’t exactly let my take my phone in there with me, man.”

“Yeah but you could at least send a more detailed text than ‘In the hospital’. Plus Aerith was calling **me** after she couldn’t get ahold of you. I thought she was gonna try and strangle me through the phone after I told her I knew about as much as her…”

“Heh, sorry about that.”

Angeal, Kunsel and Cloud were all standing around Zack’s bed in the upstairs apartment. Aerith had just left, since she had left her store unattended for about two hours as she had immediately rushed to the hospital after getting a similar text from Zack. She promised Zack a good talking to after she made sure no one had stolen anything, since Zack had made her “worried sick” with a lack of information.

“But like I said, Cloud took me straight to the hospital after it happened so…yeah! I’ve just gotta wear this annoying thing for a few weeks, then I can switch to a cast I can walk around in, at least.” Zack looked down at the splint along the bottom half of his right leg. The doctor had said that he had been “very lucky” that only his tibia had been broken and even then the fracture was closed and still relatively stable so that he didn’t need surgery. The pain meds were helping quite a bit as well, though Zack was already starting to get annoyed with not being able to get up and walk around. 

_That probably doesn’t bode well for me having to not move it for a few weeks…_

Angeal let out a tired sigh, rubbing the crease in between his eyes. Guiltily, Zack realized that he had given Angeal more than a few new wrinkles today. “I guess you’re right...In the end, I’m just glad that you’re all right, Zack.” Angeal gave him a light, tired smile. “But you do know you’re not going to be allowed to do any work until you’re healed. I know that the doctor said to put minimal strain on yourself and I’m going to make sure you abide by that advice.”

Zack pouted immediately. “What?! No way, I can totally do stuff sitting down like this Angeal, I don’t wanna make you lose a bunch of business while I’m stuck in bed!” 

“Oh give it a rest, Zack! Knowing you you’d break the other leg…!”

“Why don’t you come closer and say that again, Kunsel—”

Angeal held up his hand, signaling to Zack that the conversation was over. “No arguments, Zack. I’m more concerned about losing my apprentice than I am a little bit of business.” He paused, giving Zack a wry smile. “But only a little.” Angeal looked over at Cloud, who was standing in the corner farthest away from the group. He hadn’t said a word the entire time and seemed intent on not meeting anyone’s gaze. “Besides, you can help some, right Cloud?” 

Cloud looked up at Angeal hesitantly then nodded, glancing to the side immediately afterwards.

Angeal stared at Cloud’s expressions carefully for a moment then turned back to look at Zack. “Zack, you said that this happened when someone tried to rob you, right?” Zack immediately straightened slightly and, although no one noticed, Cloud’s body stiffened as well. “Is that…actually what happened?”

Zack grinned slightly. “What do you mean? Of course that’s what happened! I mean, you know how things are in this part of town sometimes. Luckily Cloud was there and chased him off before anything got too bad.” Zack looked to Cloud. “Right?” 

Cloud’s eyes widened slightly as they caught Zack’s gaze before he immediately turned his head away and looked at the opposite wall. “Right…” He replied softly.

Kunsel immediately looked at Zack suspiciously as Angeal studied Cloud. After a few seconds he let out a sigh, indicating that he was willing to drop it for now. “Well, I’d better go down and rearrange the schedule a little bit…Are you sure you’ll be all right up here, Zack? It might be better for you to stay on the first floor of my house until you’re healed. I don’t want you trying to get up and down these stairs and make yourself worse.”

“I’ll be okay! I can hop down on one leg just fine if I need anything.”

“No, Zack, if you need something send **Cloud** down to get it, or have him help you down the stairs. Okay?”

Zack sighed lightly. “Okay…”

Everyone jumped slightly as Cloud suddenly spoke. “Wait, I’ll…I’ll come down and help in the shop if-…if you need anything…”

Angeal raised a brow. “Are you sure, Cloud? Well, if you’re comfortable, I guess you could work on drilling some of the extra pieces.”

Cloud nodded quickly and followed after Angeal, not even pausing to look back at Zack as he disappeared down the stairs.

Zack frowned slightly. Cloud hadn’t wanted to leave his side the entire time he had been in the hospital, though he had seemed afraid to talk or even look at him. Zack hadn’t really thought much of it then, since he had been too busy being in pain and answering endless questions from doctors and nurses and trying to keep Angeal and his friends from freaking out too much. Now, though, he was beginning to notice how Cloud was pointedly not meeting his gaze and, once Cloud had gotten Zack up the stairs and comfortably in bed, it had been obvious he hadn’t wanted to be in the room with him alone.

_He must still be freaked out about what happened_. Zack told himself. _I’m sure we’ll be able to talk about it later._

“All right, Zack, out with it.” Kunsel sat on the edge of the bed next to Zack, looking at him with a mixture of concern and suspicion. “That story you told us before…it was complete bullshit, wasn’t it?”

“I-, well…”

“Zack.” Kunsel said, a more imploring tone in his voice. “You’re fucking **leg** is broken and your face looks like someone hit you with a metal pole. You don’t exactly live in the nice part of town but I know you’re tough enough to take on at least one guy trying to get your money. Plus…” Kunsel sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “You’ve always been a terrible liar”

Zack gave Kunsel a self-depreciating smile. “Heh…guess you’re right. I’m pretty sure Angeal wasn’t buying it either, but…” Zack glanced to the side. “I couldn’t tell him what actually happened. He’s got no idea about all the stuff we found out about Cloud. You think he’d be happy to find out **now**?”

Kunsel’s eyes widened and he leaned forward slightly. “So it was about Cloud, then. I knew it had to be, Zack! So what happened? The government…did they send like 40 soldiers after you are something?!”

Zack sighed, rubbing his neck nervously. “No, just one guy…Well, one robot, anyway.”

Zack explained everything that had happened, from the strange phone call to Reno’s words about taking Cloud back then, finally, he began to talk about what had happened to Cloud.

By the time Zack had finished, Kunsel had turned about three shades of white. “He— Shit, Zack…” Kunsel took off the trucker hat he always wore, wiping his brow before putting it back on. Zack could see that Kunsel’s hands were shaking slightly and he wondered if telling him had been the right thing to do after all. “He really was built to kill, wasn’t he…” Kunsel looked back at the stairs in horror. “There’s no way Angeal’s safe being down there alone with him, Zack! Why the hell haven’t you told him any of this…?!”

Zack grabbed Kunsel’s arm before he could stand up from the bed. “Because he’d freak out even worse than you are right now, Kunsel! And what the hell are you talking about? Of course Angeal’s safe down there with him, Cloud protected me remember?!”

Kunsel pulled his arm out of Zack’s grasp but stayed on the bed. “Yeah, but you said it didn’t even seem like he recognized you at first. What if he had turned around and run that sword through you, huh?!”

Zack gripped the sheets next to him. “He— I know he wouldn’t have, all right? Plus, if I told Angeal that Cloud was actually some sort of superweapon thing from the government, he’d probably make me take him back or something…!”

“Well maybe you should!” Kunsel stood up suddenly and began to anxiously pace the room. “I knew it was a bad idea to pick him up from the scrapyard in the first place, Zack. And now look…! You’ve got a broken leg, hell— You’re lucky you’re not **dead** and you’ve got a government weapon with **swords** hidden in his legs in your house and the government could be sending 10 more of those super-killer robots after you right now.” Kunsel stopped pacing and turned to look at Zack. “I say you take that thing right back to the scrap yard and put it back where you found it!”

There was nothing but silence between the two of them for an entire minute after that, besides the sound of Kunsel catching his breath as they stared at each other.

Finally, Zack spoke up. “…You don’t mean that.” He said softly, staring at Kunsel.

“I—” Kunsel rubbed his face, his voice more rough sounding from the yelling. “…You’re right. I didn’t mean that. It’s just…hell, Zack.” Kunsel went back over to the bed, sitting on the end of it this time. “Of course I don’t mean that! I may not know Cloud as well as you, but I—…I don’t want to turn the poor guy off for something that’s not really his fault.” He glanced back at Zack, straightening his hat. “It’s just that it actually hit me that you could be dead right now…You don’t worry about yourself enough, man. Someone has to worry about you a little bit, you know?”

“Heh—” Zack grinned slightly. “Maybe you’ve got a point there. Either way, I don’t think Angeal needs any more wrinkles because of me so let’s just keep this between us, okay? And same with Aerith…I don’t want to worry her any more than I already have.”

Kunsel shook his head. “You know she’ll immediately sense it if you’re lying to her. You better at least tell her **something** that’s true and not just a bullshit story.”

Zack sighed. “You’re right, you’re right…I just don’t want anyone coming after her either. At least it doesn’t look like they know where I live, or else they would’ve been here by now.” Zack glanced over at Cloud’s cactus that was safely sitting on his bedside table. Aerith had managed to find it in the alleyway, unharmed, and bring it to them when Zack asked her about it. Cloud had seemed relieved when she brought the plant but didn’t say much besides a small “Thank you” to her.

The cactus had been forgotten in the alleyway at the time as they had both been too focused on getting Cloud’s swords back into the compartments in his legs. Cloud kept insisting they leave the swords there so that he could just take Zack to the hospital as soon as possible. He had even begun to panic, since he knew that Zack was in pain and he couldn’t figure out how to activate the openings as he had done in that strange green-eyed mode. But Zack didn’t want to leave a huge sword in the middle of the alleyway as evidence for the police or the government so, with a little encouragement, Cloud finally figured out how to split the sword apart again and place the pieces back in his legs.

He hadn’t seemed very happy about it, though.

Kunsel nodded solemnly. “It seems that that guy who sent you the email is really on your side, at least. Even though he warned you a little late”

“It was the same voice as the guy we heard in the lab, Kunsel. The one who was talking to Cloud… I’m pretty sure that means he’s still working for that government robotics lab, or at least they’ve still got some kinda hold on him. It might’ve been dangerous for him, warning me like that.”

_I hope he’s doing okay._

“I’ll see if I can find anything about him or anyone else that works in the lab at work tomorrow, okay? Same goes for that robot that attacked you.”

Zack stared at Kunsel in shock. “Are you crazy?! Kunsel, you were the one yelling at me about how dangerous this was a minute ago. If they catch you sneaking around trying to get information, you’ll--”

Kunsel shook his head with a light smile. “Sorry, I’m already too deep into this to quit now. Besides, the more information we know the better, right?”

Zack paused, glancing to the side with a slight frown. “I’m not so sure about that, now…”

He had never wanted to know that Cloud was a weapon. He had never wanted to know that he had a strange, dangerous side to him that he didn’t understand. But now that he did know…

“Hey.” Kunsel’s voice interrupted. “Look, I know I was saying those things about Cloud earlier but…he’s still Cloud, you know? He’s still got that look on his face like he’s worried you’re gonna break any second.” Kunsel smiled. “I never thought I’d be convinced that robots **could** even worry about someone but…watching how he acts around you and everyone else, I’m pretty convinced at this point.”

Zack stared at Kunsel in disbelief. “Kunsel…”

“Hey, don’t start getting too worked up about it.” Kunsel stood up, gently patting the splint on Zack’s leg. “Just worry about healing that leg of yours and not falling down the stairs and I’ll focus on the info, all right?”

Zack nodded, feeling a more genuine smile return to his face. “Yeah. Thanks, Kunsel.”

That night, Zack had expected to be able to talk to Cloud before the robot went into sleep mode. Surprisingly, Cloud didn’t begin the usual routine of sitting down on the bed to plug himself in. Instead, he stayed in the living room after helping Zack get to the bathroom to brush his teeth and back into bed.

“Cloud?” Zack leaned his head over to try and get a good look at Cloud’s figure in the living room. To his frustration, he couldn’t see much besides Cloud beginning to plug himself in on the couch. “What are you doing out there?”

Zack saw Cloud visibly tense. “R-Recharging…”

“Out there?” Zack felt a creeping anxiety begin to form. “Are you…sleeping on the couch again?”

Cloud nodded shortly. “Yeah.”

“But…” Zack started, feeling unable to put his thoughts into words. “But what about, you know— aren’t you gonna have those nightmares again?”

Cloud shook his head again and lied down on the couch, turning so that his back was facing Zack. “No, I stopped having those a little while ago so…it’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but…”

“I don’t want to bump your leg against me or…hurt yourself more because of me.” The last part came out so soft that Zack could barely make it out. He was fully sitting up now, feeling desperate to close the physical and what seemed to be a newly forming emotional distance as well.

“Cloud, listen—”

“Good night.” Cloud quickly interrupted. Zack could see the blue glow on the couch disappear, indicating that Cloud had closed his eyes. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Zack relaxed his head against the pillow as well, though he felt no urge to go to sleep. Instead, he stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. 

He had gotten so used to the feeling of Cloud’s warmth and weight on the mattress that it now seemed uncomfortably flat and cold. That, and the mix of thoughts swirling around his head, was making it extremely difficult to try and relax.

_Tomorrow…I’m sure I’ll get a chance to talk to him tomorrow._

***

Even after Cloud had closed his eyes, he couldn’t manage to relax enough to go into sleep mode. He had gotten so used to Zack’s presence next to him, calming him even after he woke up from a nightmare that the couch now felt small and lonely.

_But I can’t face Zack anymore…not after what I did. I don’t deserve to be close to him._

Cloud couldn’t get the image of Zack’s horrified face out of his mind. Even when he tried to archive it in his memory banks, the thought of Zack fearfully staring at him always would come back. 

He remembered attacking Reno, though everything was mixed in with a blurry green haze and he had trouble distinguishing what was real and what were pieces that he made up himself to fill in the blanks. Either way, he didn’t understand what had happened, or why, and it terrified him. What if he accidentally activated it again and attacked someone? What if that was the only way to protect Zack again if someone else came after him?

_Well, I guess I won’t have to worry about that for much longer…_

Earlier that day, when he had been helping Angeal, the sound of Kunsel and Zack’s voices had been gradually getting louder and louder until their shouting could be heard all the way down in the shop.

“Cloud, why don’t you go check on those two and make sure everything’s all right?” Angeal had asked.

Cloud had nodded silently and gone up the stairs, despite the fact that he wanted to be able to stay with Angeal and avoid being alone with Zack as long as possible. Just as Cloud had opened the door a crack, Kunsel’s voice suddenly caused him to freeze.

“—you take that thing right back to the scrap yard and put it back where you found it!”

Cloud stood there for a few seconds, unable to move. Finally, he silently closed the door and slowly walked back down the stairs.

Angeal had looked at him, a concerned look beginning to form in his eyes as he caught Cloud’s facial expressions. “Everything okay, Cloud?”

Quickly switching to a neutral expression, Cloud nodded. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” He had quickly sat back down at the bench to begin to work again, namely to prevent Angeal from seeing how badly his hands were shaking.

_Take me back to the scrap yard…_

Cloud pulled the blanket tighter as he curled in on himself.

_I’m going to be thrown away again, aren’t I?_

Even if Zack had told him that it was all right, that wasn’t completely true was it? Deep in his heart, Cloud knew that he deserved to be thrown away again, especially with all the trouble he had brought to Zack and everyone else. Angeal, Aerith, and Kunsel…they were all worried now and Zack had even gotten hurt because of him.

_In the end, even if Zack is my “special person”…_ Cloud thought sadly. _I don’t deserve to be with him anymore._

Cloud figured that he had until Zack was feeling well enough to take him to the scrap yard to be thrown out again. 

_Until then, I just have to do what I can to help Zack and Angeal._

***

For Zack, “I’ll be able to talk to him tomorrow” happened over and over again until two weeks had passed and he had been “upgraded” to an orthopedic boot. While he was happy to be able to walk/hobble around the apartment, now that he was at least able to get around a bit by himself, Zack noticed how little he was seeing of Cloud.

When he had been stuck in bed, Cloud had constantly hovered near his room or the couch in case Zack called out for something. Zack thought this would make it easier to talk to him, but…

_”Hey, Cloud…”_

_”Do you need something?”_

_”Yeah, would you mind grabbing my laptop over there?_

_”Here…do you need anything else?_

_“No I’m fine, but I do wanna ask you—”_

Each and every time Zack would try and start a conversation Cloud would immediately turn away and say something about needing to help Angeal downstairs. In fact, Zack noticed that Cloud was avoiding saying more than a few words to him at a time and would dodge looking at him in the face.

Zack wasn’t sure how to feel about Cloud being both extremely attentive and caring but also emotionally distant and cold. Either way, he didn’t like it, and he was feeling worse about it each and every day. The only bright spot in the past two weeks had been Kunsel’s reports about getting closer and closer to finding the mysterious correspondent. In their last phone conversation, he had actually had some useful information to give.

_“Well, I haven’t found out much else about the SOLDIER program, but…you remember that username and password we found under the door when we were down in the lab?”_

_“What about it?”_

_“Turns out that I can get around some of the security that keeps everyone out of looking at **all** the employees that the government hires. And, as it turns out, there happens to be only one employee with the last name ‘Tuesti’. Now, before you get too excited, all that I could find before the security systems kicked me out was that he works as one of the primary researchers in the robotics labs…”_

Kunsel had paused for dramatic emphasis. Zack decided it was better to try and humor him so he could get the rest of the story.

_“Yeah? And? And?”_

_“ **And** he works under one guy…Hojo.”_

Unfortunately Kunsel hadn’t found much more than that, though he promised to keep looking. After that, Zack had opened his laptop to send a quick email that he knew was a complete shot in the dark. After all, the mysterious correspondent hadn’t responded to any of his emails before. Even so, he thought he might as well try. It wasn’t like he could try and call him, since the call before Reno had appeared was from an unknown number.

**Is your name Reeve?**

He probably wouldn’t get a response but he had to try something.

Luckily, now that Zack was able to hobble around a little bit, Angeal finally relented and allowed Zack to do at least a little bit of work around the shop (though he expressly forbade Zack from carrying anything more than 5 pounds). Zack didn’t mind that much since he was relieved to just have **something** to take his mind off of worrying about the government sending more robots after them and, more importantly, Cloud’s strange behavior.

One day, Aerith stopped by in the afternoon to pay them a visit and to bring Zack some candies to cheer him up.

“Heh, thanks Aerith, but I feel like if I eat too much while I’m not moving around a whole lot I’m gonna end up getting fat.”

Aerith set the chocolates down on the dining room table, adjusting a vase of daisies she had brought over earlier as she did. “Well a couple of chocolates isn’t going to hurt anything! Besides, sweets always help cheer people up, right?”

“I guess.” Zack responded, though he was distracted watching Cloud out of the corner of his eye. The robot was making no effort to join in on the conversation and had his back turned to the two of them as he watered his Christmas Cactus.

Aerith looked about to chide Zack for giving such a lame response but then followed his gaze over towards Cloud. She looked between the two of them thoughtfully for a few seconds before clapping her hands together. “Well I’d better get going back to the shop! I have a huge order I need to fill pretty soon. Why don’t you walk me to the door, Zack?”

“Huh? Why do you— Woah!” Zack stumbled a little as Aerith grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the stairs. “Watch it Aerith, I’m not exactly agile in this thing!” Zack glanced back towards Cloud, who had turned to face them and looked ready to spring into action in case Zack had **actually** fallen. Their eyes met briefly, Cloud’s bright blue eyes widening slightly in response before he quickly turned away, fiddling with the cactus’ leaves.

Zack turned his head away, sighing. _Am I doing something wrong here? Despite how many times I’ve tried to talk to him, he’s still avoiding me like this…_

Aerith continued pulling Zack down the stairs and to the door, finally letting go once they were outside. Zack stared at Aerith in confusion as she took a few steps away from him. “There, uh…you happy now?”

“Zack—” Aerith started, still keeping her back to him. “Cloud’s been acting…distant for the past few weeks, hasn’t he?”

Zack blinked a few times. “I—” Deciding there was no use in denying it, he let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. I mean, you’ve seen him the few times you’ve come over.”

Aerith nodded, finally turning her face towards him. She was frowning worriedly and Zack immediately felt guilty. “I can sense that he wants to ask me or tell me something but every time he ends up running away before he can say anything.” Aerith looked down at her hands, fiddling with them slightly. “Is he upset you told me about what happened when you broke your leg? About that… ‘Other Cloud’ that he became?”

Zack shook his head quickly. “Of course not! I mean…I don’t see why he’d have any problems with **you** knowing about it…”

Earlier Aerith had finally forced a “real” explanation out of Zack as to how he broke his leg. He ended up telling her about the strange robot that had attacked them, and even how Cloud had saved them, but conveniently left out that he and Kunsel had infiltrated the government building a few weeks prior to it. Zack had a feeling if he had told her, he would have gotten a few smacks to the head in response.

“Then…maybe he feels guilty. Like it’s his fault that you two ended up being attacked.” Aerith looked back up the shop, frowning sadly at the window to Zack’s apartment. “He’s probably scared too…of that ‘Other Him’ that showed up to protect the two of you.”

Zack nodded solemly. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s it too. But every time I try and actually **talk** to him he just runs down to help Angeal with something.” Zack shook his head hopelessly. “I’m starting to run out of ideas, here…I just really want him to talk to me again, you know? It’s kinda…” Zack paused. “…lonely, I guess.”

_Man, that really is it, isn’t it? Not being able to talk to Cloud…it’s pretty awful._

Aerith stared thoughtfully at Zack, almost as if she was suddenly realizing something. Before Zack could ask her what it was, she finally spoke. “Well, why don’t you just make it so that Cloud can’t run away from you before you can say something?”

Zack blinked a few times. “So that he can’t run away?”

Aerith nodded, a sly smile forming on her lips. “I’ve got an idea.”

***

Zack watched Cloud for the rest of the day, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. The moment finally came, much to Zack’s relief, when Cloud sat down on the couch to plug himself in to recharge. Casually, Zack walked over to stand in front of him. He noticed Cloud’s body tense slightly when he approached.

“Settling down for the night, Cloud?”

As per usual, Cloud pointedly avoided looking Zack in the eyes. “Y-Yeah, I— Zack?! W-W-What are you doing?!”

Cloud flailed in surprise as Zack suddenly sat down on Cloud’s lap, swinging his legs (with some difficulty thanks to the boot) onto the couch as he put his hands on Cloud’s shoulders to steady himself. “What’s it look like? I’m sitting down too.”

Cloud looked absolutely beside himself. His hands moved to Zack’s waist for a split second to try and help steady him but then he quickly moved his hands away as if he had been burned. Zack could see Cloud struggling with the fact that he obviously wanted to get Zack off of him but didn’t want to push Zack off or do anything that might cause him to hurt himself. So instead, he sat frozen, his face plates turning redder by the second. “B-but you’ll…You’re gonna hurt your leg, Zack! Please get off…!”

Zack shook his head stubbornly. “No way. You’re the one that’s been avoiding me for the past few weeks Cloud, so I had to take some desperate measures.”

“I-I haven’t been…” Cloud stared at Zack in shock for a moment then quickly looked to the side. “I haven’t been avoiding you…”

Zack huffed. “Like hell you haven’t. You haven’t even looked me in the face for more than a few seconds!” Cloud tensed even more than he had been before and gripped the couch cushions. 

“I…”

“So, how about it? Are you gonna look me in the eyes now?” Zack tilted his head to try and catch Cloud’s gaze, though the other quickly avoided it. Zack sighed and gave a small shrug. “Guess there’s no helping it.” Gently, Zack placed his hands on either side of Cloud’s face. He felt his heart do a small flip of excitement at finally feeling Cloud’s skin and metal plates against his hands. It had been so long since he had been able to touch him or ruffle his hair that Zack felt like he had been going into withdraw.

Cloud fought against him for a moment but then eventually let Zack tilt his face towards him, staring at Zack with a mix of yearning and sorrow. “Z-Zack…” He whispered hoarsely. Zack felt his heart ache at the sadness in Cloud’s voice.

Just how much had Cloud been suffering this whole time?

“There…” Zack gave him a small smile. “That wasn’t so bad, right? Now, are you actually gonna talk to me?”

“I—” Cloud obviously wanted to say something but then stopped as his eyes drifted to the ground. “What is there to talk about…?”

“What do you mean ‘what is there’, Cloud? I wanna talk about what happened with Reno and you, of course!” Zack frowned. “I know you’ve been guilting yourself over what happened and I’m telling you it’s not your fault! So don’t keep avoiding me like you’re trying to make yourself suffer, okay?” Zack leaned his head forward, resting his forehead on Cloud’s. “I’ve missed you, these past few weeks.”

Cloud seemed unable to avoid Zack’s eyes any longer. “I— I’m not…punishing myself…” He faltered. “I just…” Cloud trailed off. “I just…”

Cloud couldn’t put his thoughts into words. He didn’t deserve to be Zack’s “special person” in the first place and if he was going to be thrown away soon, avoiding Zack was much less painful than being with him and knowing it had to end soon.

But if he had been hurting Zack this entire time, wasn’t that even worse?

_Even if it is painful, I can’t make Zack suffer any more…_ Cloud thought.

“…I’m sorry, Zack.” Cloud mumbled, pulling his face away slightly. “I didn’t mean to make you so upset.”

Zack shook his head quickly and wrapped his arms around Cloud’s neck, pulling him into a hug. “I’m telling you, you don’t need to apologize anymore! So let’s just go back to normal, okay?”

It hurt, to have Zack hold him like this. It hurt to want to hold him too, despite knowing that he didn’t deserve it. Knowing that he deserved to be thrown away. But…

“…Okay.” Cloud leaned forward, resting his forehead against Zack’s shoulder. “Okay, Zack…”

He could at least enjoy the little amount of time that he had left with his “special someone”.


	11. Gear Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! :Db

It was a strange feeling for Cloud, to try and act “normal” around Zack and everyone else while knowing that any minute it could suddenly come to an end.

It had been difficult at first. Each and every time he would say something to Zack or help out around the shop he could feel the other’s eyes on him, watching each and every reaction. But he had gotten better at it, with time. He got better at recognizing the instant that a flash of concern would appear in Zack’s eyes and do his best to make that look disappear, whether it was with a smile or telling the other that he was fine.

But he wasn’t. Cloud knew that he wasn’t. Each time he let his mind wander, flashes of Reno’s face or Zack’s, contorted in pain, would appear before his eyes. Each time he would see Zack hobbling around the shop or swearing under his breath at his orthopedic boot, Cloud was reminded of how everything was his fault.

_When I’m gone, at least Zack won’t have to worry about being attacked anymore…_

After he was thrown away again, Zack could just continue the rest of his life in peace. 

_”After I’m thrown away…”_

Despite how he knew he **should** feel about it, every time Cloud thought about being taken back to the scrap yard, a sudden chill would overcome him and he wouldn’t be able to move for a few seconds after. The very thought of being tossed out and abandoned terrified him, despite the fact that it was best for everyone. Whenever he saw Aerith or Kunsel or Angeal come into the shop, he wondered if this would be the last time he saw them. Would they remember him? Would they be sad that he was gone?

Cloud didn’t know. If they did miss him, hopefully they wouldn’t be sad for too long. The last thing he wanted to do was make everyone else suffer even more.

_And Zack…_

That was probably the most painful thought: He would never be able to tell Zack how he felt or become Zack’s “special someone”. There were so many things that Cloud still wanted to do, things that he hadn’t gotten to experience. He wasn’t ready to go yet, but…

_Stop. It’s for the best._

Cloud would always try and shove these thoughts to the back of his mind, though every time he did, the dread and fear would become harder and harder to suppress. 

It was wrong for him to feel this afraid of the inevitable. He needed to accept it. It would be easier that way.

Cloud figured that he had until Zack was feeling well enough to take him back to the scrap yard again. Until then, he would do his best to face the end.

***

“Ah, fucking finally!” Zack stretched from side to side, admiring his now boot-less foot. “It feels so much better now that I don’t have to drag that thing up and down the stairs anymore.” Zack jumped up, grinning. “Sweet freedom is finally mine!”

“Zack, would you **please** be a little more careful. If you put too much strain on it too soon it’s going to re-break.” Angeal stood up from behind the desk in his office, looking about to restrain Zack at any second.

Zack stopped jumping, laughing a little. “Relax, Angeal, it’s fine! See?” Zack reached down and patted his shin bone. “Even better than before.”

“I’m not sure about **that** …” Angeal sighed, then glanced towards his schedule on the wall. There were several lines and arrows through appointments and deliveries that had been rescheduled once, twice and even three times to deal with Zack not being able to do as much work. “Either way, as long as you promise not to over-exert yourself, you should probably pick up some extra metal from in town. We’ve been running low since last week, and this one order that’s due next week is going to be…challenging, to say the least.”

Zack gave a little salute. “Leave it up to me! I can just run down to the scrap yard to see what they’ve got. It’s been a while since I’ve been down there, after all.” Zack ran to the door but then paused. “Oh, and I can take Cloud too! He’ll be great to help carry stuff. Plus…”

Angeal tilted his head slightly. “What is it, Zack?”

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at the ground. “Even if he’s stopped trying to avoid me completely he still seems kinda…down, you know? Maybe once he sees me working and moving around like before, he’ll see that I’m a-okay and he can stop feeling guilty.” Zack nodded to himself. “Right! That’ll definitely work. See you later, Angeal!” 

Angeal shook his head as Zack slammed the door to his office behind him. “Worrying about everyone but yourself…it’s going to get you in trouble, Zack…”

Zack ran up the stairs to his apartment, taking joy in each and every step he could take with his right foot. “Ahaha, this feels great! Hey! Hey Cloooud~!” Zack called as he opened the door. Cloud, who had been sitting on the couch watching T.V., immediately sat up straight and turned it off.

“Y-Yes?”

“Hey, now that I’ve got that stupid boot off, let’s go to the scrap yard, okay? I just need to grab my coat and I’ll be ready to go!” Zack immediately turned and ran back down the stairs, not catching the way Cloud’s eyes widened in horror or how his entire body immediately stiffened.

Zack pulled on his coat, not taking the time to grab his hat (despite the winter chill in the air) before he went to the door and began to tap his foot impatiently. When Cloud hadn’t come down after a minute or so, Zack went back to the stairs and called out for him. “Come on, Cloud, what’s the hold up? Something wrong up there?”

The door finally opened and Cloud slowly came walking down the stairs. “N-Nothing’s wrong.” Cloud murmured. “I’m ready.” Zack tilted his head to try and catch a few of Cloud’s expression but Cloud began to walk ahead before he could. 

_Weird…_

Shrugging, Zack followed after Cloud and began to walk side by side with him, chatting excitedly. “It feels so good to finally be able to walk again, you know? Especially with this snow on the ground now, that boot was getting really damn awkward to try and get around in outside.” Zack looked towards Cloud, whose gaze was firmly aimed at the ground. “Speaking of snow, you sure you’re okay just wearing that sweater? Aren’t you cold without a jacket?”

Cloud shook his head. “I’m fine.” He replied dully.

Zack tilted his head curiously. “You sure?”

Cloud nodded again, lowering his head so that his bangs were shadowing his eyes. “Yes.” His voice was even softer this time, making the twinge of concern in Zack’s stomach grow even more. 

_Is he still worried that my leg hurts? Is he still blaming himself?_

Zack continued to chat despite his concern and even walked a bit faster in hopes that Cloud could see how good he was feeling and that there was no reason to worry about him anymore. Despite that, the closer that they got to the scrap yard, the slower Cloud seemed to walk. Zack even stopped a few times to wait for him when it seemed like he was falling too far behind.

After a few episodes of stopping and starting again, they finally arrived. “Here we go! Okay, time to get to work!” Zack nodded to himself and began to walk past the gate when he suddenly stopped.

Cloud had grabbed his hand, shakily holding it in both of his. Zack turned around, staring at the other in surprise. “Cloud, what—?”

“Please…” Cloud’s voice was barely above a whisper, his head bowed towards the ground. “Please don’t…” The robot finally raised his head slightly, giving Zack the most pained and heartbreaking expression Zack had ever seen. 

“What--…” Zack turned around fully, putting his other hand over Cloud’s. He could feel the robot trembling violently and his heart hurt at the sight of the despair in Cloud’s eyes. “Don’t what? What’s wrong, Cloud…?!”

“P-…please don’t throw me away…” Cloud sank to his knees, desperately gripping onto Zack’s hands. “I’ll be better from now on, I promise, I-…” Cloud’s breathing became shakier as he trailed off. “Please…”

Zack’s eyes widened in shock. “Throw you awa- What?!” Despite the snow on the ground, Zack got on his knees in front of Cloud, still holding onto the robot’s hand. “What did you say…?!”

Cloud shook his head, his voice still soft and lost-sounding. “I know I deserve it. I know I’ve only made things worse for you, but I—…I still…” He bit his lip. “I c-c-can’t…”

Zack still seemed to be having difficulty processing what was happening. “Cloud…You thought I—…” Suddenly he pulled his hand out of Cloud’s grip and wrapped his arms around the other’s neck instead, pulling him into a tight hug. “Cloud, what put that idea into your head?! I’m not throwing you away…How could you think I would even **want** to?!”

Cloud’s arms hung loosely at his sides, though Zack could still feel him trembling. “You…don’t…?” He barely managed to get out, his voice muffled against Zack’s chest.

“Of **course** I don’t, Cloud! Shit, I was just bringing you along so you could help me carry some stuff back to the shop, not so that I could **leave** you here!”

After a few seconds Cloud’s breathing began to even out and he slowly lifted his trembling hands up to grip onto the back of Zack’s coat. “But I-…I heard you and Kunsel talking about it a few weeks ago. He said you— That you needed to take me back here and get rid of me.”

Zack searched through his memories of the past few weeks. When had Kunsel said that? **Had** he said that? After a few more seconds of desperate searching, Zack finally remembered the conversation with Kunsel after he had come back from the hospital. “You… **heard** that…?” Zack croaked out.

Cloud nodded slowly, still keeping his face hidden against Zack’s chest. “All the bad things that have happened because of me…they would stop if you got rid of me, right?”

“Shit, Cloud…!” Zack pulled Cloud even closer, feeling himself begin to shake slightly. “Kunsel was just spouting off stupid shit because he was upset, he didn’t actually **mean** it! And I—…There’s no way I would **ever** throw you away, you got that? None of this stuff that’s happened has been your fault, Cloud, I’m serious!” Zack put his hands to Cloud’s shoulders, moving him back slightly so that he could look at his face. “I thought I made that clear before.” Zack offered him a small, but genuine smile. “You’re stuck with me for as long as you wanna be.”

Cloud’s eyes widened slowly, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “R-Really…?”

“Of course!” Zack replied with a firm nod, pulling Cloud back into a hug. He thread his fingers through the back of Cloud’s hair. He knew that it was a comforting gesture for Cloud but Zack found that it had become just as comforting to do it. “I’ll never throw you away, Cloud. I promise.”

At that, Cloud’s grip around Zack tightened and he began to tremble again. Although this time it seemed that it was from relief instead of fear. “Zack…!”

“Now come on.” Zack murmured into the other’s hair. “It’s kinda cold sitting on the ground like this, right?” Cloud looked up at Zack, who smiled softly in reply. “Let’s go home.”

Cloud nodded quickly, standing up along with Zack, only to immediately cling onto his arm once he did. “Okay…”

Zack let out a small sigh, reaching over with his free hand to gently ruffle Cloud’s hair. “We can come back and bring some scrap metal to the shop some other time. I don’t think Angeal will be too mad about it.”

Cloud nodded silently, still focusing most of his attention on holding onto Zack. Even when they got back to the shop, Cloud didn’t stop clinging onto the teen for the rest of the day. 

Luckily, Angeal had seen the troubled expression on Cloud’s face and the way that Zack made no attempt to pry the robot off, so he didn’t question it.

***

As a few days passed, Cloud eventually became less distraught, though it still seemed as if he was looking at Zack as if he might disappear at any moment. 

_I gotta think of a way to cheer him up, but what…?_

After about a day of thinking, Zack finally settled on an idea.

“Hey, Cloud, I’ve got a surprise for you!”

Cloud looked up from the movie he was watching. It was one of the romantic comedies he had borrowed from Aerith yesterday when they were visiting her shop. Zack had briefly wondered why Cloud had wanted to borrow so many romantic movies but was quickly shut down by Aerith, who said there was “nothing wrong” with watching them in the first place. 

_That’s true but, it looks like he’s focusing on them pretty hard when he watches them. Is that normal?_

“A surprise?”

“Yeah!” Zack took a seat next to Cloud on the couch. “I got the day off today and so do you, so we’re gonna go out on the town and finally get you some clothes of your own.”

Cloud’s eyes widened slightly. “Out…downtown?”

Zack nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! What do you think about that?”

Zack felt himself deflate slightly as Cloud looked to the side hesitantly. “I just…that’s…a lot of people.” Cloud mumbled.

“Well…” Zack frowned slightly, rubbing the back of his head. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Cloud glanced over at Zack and, taking in his disappointed expression, shook his head quickly. “No I want to go! With Zack there, I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Cloud nodded to himself, then absentmindedly touched one of his ear pieces. “Won’t I stick out a lot, though? I don’t want to cause you too much trouble if people are…staring.”

Zack mood immediately lifted. “Don’t worry, I’ve got the solution for that!” Zack ran over to his closet, coming back a few seconds later with a blue and white knitted hat. “Here you go! It’s winter time anyway, so you won’t stick out as much if you wear this.” Zack pulled the hat over Cloud’s head, taking a moment to admire how cute he looked with it on. “And I don’t care what you say, you’re definitely wearing one of my coats out until we get you a new one.”

Cloud glanced to the side, his face plates turning pink. “Okay…” Cloud suddenly frowned slightly, putting a hand on his cheek. 

Zack tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”

“Even if my ear pieces are covered, once people are close enough they’ll see these…” Cloud rubbed at his face plates. “I wish they weren’t so obvious-looking. Then maybe I’d look more…human.” Cloud replied sadly.

“Hey, don’t talk like that!” Without thinking, Zack put a hand on Cloud’s cheek, rubbing his thumb along the black metal plate. “These things are part of what make you ‘you’, Cloud. I can’t really imagine you without them, at this point.”

Cloud’s expression shifted to one of surprise and hesitation. “Really?”

“Definitely!” Zack nodded, though instead of removing his hand, his fingers began to trace the outline of the plates. _They do really suit him, huh…_

Zack noticed the face plates begin to change from black to pink then to red the longer he kept his fingers on them. _I still can’t get over his soft his skin is, either._ It seemed as if his fingers were moving on their own now, shifting from the black metal plates to the outline of Cloud’s jaw. _He’s just so…_

“Z-Zack…?” Cloud squeaked, snapping Zack out of his trance-like state. Without realizing it, Zack’s thumb had begun to trace along the top of Cloud’s lip. “W-What’s…wrong?” Cloud stuttered, his faceplates redder than Zack had ever seen them. 

Zack quickly stood up. “A-Ah nothing, nothing, sorry! Kinda zoned out there!” Zack laughed nervously, sticking his slightly trembling hands in his pockets. “Anyway, I’ll go grab some coats and we can go, okay?” 

“O-…kay…” Cloud muttered. After Zack turned around he touched his lips where Zack’s thumb had been resting just a few seconds before with a pensive expression.

Zack, meanwhile, was trying to make sense of his actions. _What the hell was I doing?! Shit…_ Zack grabbed the coats, standing with them for a few seconds. _What the hell…has been wrong with my head lately?_ Zack glanced over at Cloud, who was turning off the DVD player. 

_For some reason, I didn’t want to stop…_

***

“See? I told you it’d be okay” Zack looked down at Cloud as he walked beside him. The robot was holding onto Zack’s arm nervously, though he still was looking around at all the stores and people with a sense of wonder and excitement. “Most people in the city don’t pay too much attention to other people, so they’re not taking too good a look at those faceplates of yours.”

“I guess you were right.” Cloud smiled up at Zack, causing the teen’s heart to skip a beat. “It’s fun seeing all the people, too.”

Zack grinned in response. “Right? Come on, let’s try this store here.” Zack pulled Cloud into a rather large clothing store, nearly causing the robot to stumble and bump into a mannequin.

“S-Sorry…!” Cloud bowed his head in embarrassment, causing Zack to put a hand over his mouth to contain his laughter. 

“Cloud you don’t have to apologize, it’s not a person. It’s just displaying the clothes, see?” Zack tapped the mannequin’s shoulder with a hollow “thunk” sound. “Hollow inside.”

“Oh…” Cloud tilted his head, moving closer to inspect the mannequin. “Hollow inside, huh…”

“Cloud, come on over here! We gotta get you some winter clothes first, okay?” Cloud finally tore his eyes away from the mannequin and followed after Zack, watching curiously as Zack moved things around on the racks. “Let’s see, I’m a large and some of my stuff is big on you so you might be a medium. So what do you think of this one? Or this one?”

Zack held up a few different sweaters in front of Cloud, who looked between them helplessly. “U-uh, do I have to just pick one?”

“Nah, you can try them all on if you want! Oh, how about this?” Zack grabbed a few pair of jeans, a t-shirt as well as a few winter coats of various shapes and colors. By the time Zack had added a dozen different belts to the pile Cloud was holding, it had risen over the top of his head. “Okay, I think I might’ve over done it…You okay there, Cloud?”

Cloud, of course, was having no problem holding all of the clothes though he looked embarrassed from some of the stares he was beginning to get from the other customers. “Y-Yeah…Are we buying all of these?”

“Well, probably not **all** of them. You gotta try ‘em on first, right? So you just go in here and try on and outfit, then come on out here and show me and tell me how you like it, okay?” Zack put his hands on Cloud’s shoulders and steered him into a changing room. “There you go, see you in a second!” Zack closed the door behind Cloud then leaned against the wall as he waited for the robot.

After a few minutes he began to get impatient. “Hey, what’s the holdup, Cloud? You doing okay in there?” Zack asked as he knocked on the door.

“Yeah, sorry, it’s just kind of awkward. Are most clothes supposed to be this…uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable?” Zack tilted his head slightly. “I guess the size might be wrong. Why don’t you come out here and show me?”

Zack stepped back and waited for Cloud to open the door. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see, however.

Cloud nearly stumbled out the door, trying to buckle what looked to be the 16th belt that he had attempted to tie around his waist. It had gotten so bad that there were a few around his leg and one or two around the robot’s stomach and chest.

“Cloud, y-you…” Despite trying to restrain himself, Zack doubled over in hysterical laughter. “Cloud y-you’re not s-supposed to try on all the belts…all of them at **once**!” Zack barely managed to get out in between gasps before dissolving into another fit of giggles.

Cloud crossed his arms, giving Zack a pout that was too adorable to take seriously. “Well, I didn’t know that.”

“I-I-I know, I’m sorry I just…” Zack took another look at Cloud and burst into laughter again. “You just look so **funny**!”

Cloud huffed, tapping his foot as he waited for Zack to get control of himself. “Are you done?”

“Y-Yeah, sorry…” Zack grinned as he wiped tears of laughter out of his eyes. “Man, I should really take a picture.”

“I’m trying on something else now!” Cloud turned around, closing the changing room door behind him. It took a few more minutes of coaxing from Zack before Cloud came out again, though he stopped sulking once Zack told him how good he looked in the red sweater he had picked. This time, he only had one belt on.

***

“Are you sure this wasn’t too much?” Cloud asked, helping to make room in Zack’s closet for the new clothes. Zack had given up trying to keep his things organized and was stuffing things he didn’t really use at the bottom of his closet to make room for Cloud’s.

“Course not! You needed stuff for when it gets a little warmer too, though I guess when it gets closer to summer we can get more t-shirts and stuff.” Zack looked at Cloud with a grin. “Plus, you had fun, right?”

Cloud nodded, smiling shyly at the new coat he was holding in his hand. “Yeah, it was fun. There were a lot of different kind of things in the city.”

“Yeah, next time we can go to a movie or something if you want too.”

_I’m sure as long as we stay in an area with lots of people, there won’t be as much chance of getting attacked again, right?_

“Really?” Cloud brightened up even more, looking so adorable that Zack wanted to pinch his cheek. “I-…I’d like that…”

“Great, then it’s settled!” Zack paused. “Hey, we never took your hat off. Aren’t you getting hot in that thing?” He reached over, gently pulling the knit cap off his head.

“Not really.” Cloud shook his head as the cap came off in an attempt to get his bangs out of his eyes. Cloud’s hair, which normally stuck straight out, now looked even messier and was pointing in every direction possible.

Zack chuckled, reaching over to try and flatten it back down. “Man, that hat didn’t do your hair any favors, huh…” 

_He just looks so damn cute..._

Cloud ducked his head slightly. “Does it look stupid?”

_So cute that I feel like I can’t even stand it…_

“Nah, it’s fine…” Zack trailed off, his mind wandering as he felt how soft Cloud’s hair was, how nice it felt to run his fingers through the strands. He knew that there was no reason to be doing this now that Cloud’s hair had flattened back to normal. There was no reason for him to still be threading his fingers through Cloud’s spikes, watching as Cloud’s face plates turned red. He still felt no urge to move his hand even as Cloud locked eyes with him, his face shifting into a helpless, dazed expression. In fact, it was just the opposite.

The urges that Zack had pushed into the back of his mind weeks ago, the ones that told him that Cloud’s lips might be nice to kiss, came rushing back to the forefront of Zack’s thoughts again. 

_Damn, I just wanna—_

“Zack, I need your help with this new order!”

Both Cloud and Zack flinched as the sound of Angeal’s voice came from downstairs. Zack quickly pulled his hand away and took a step back, looking everywhere but at Cloud.

“C-Coming!” Zack tried to ignore how unnaturally high-pitched his voice sounded. “I-I’ll be right back! You can put the rest of this stuff away, right?” Without waiting for an answer Zack turned around and practically sprinted down the stairs, leaving a very flustered and confused Cloud standing in his room.

_Shit, what the hell am I doing? What the hell was I about to— He’s a robot, right? I can’t just—_

Even as Zack made that argument to himself, it fell flat. 

***

Cloud was a robot. Zack had no trouble with that fact. But even if he was…

“Hey, Zack.”

He still had feelings, right? He still basically acted like a normal human except for a few small things. But even if he did…

“You know, I’ve been wondering for a while now…” Kunsel was looking at Zack with an unusually serious expression. The two of them were hanging out after the work day, right outside of Angeal’s shop. Zack had insisted on staying outside, saying the cool fresh air would do him some good.

For the past few days, it had felt unusually stuffy in Angeal’s shop and in his apartment.

“Hey, you’re zoning out again. Would you at least look at me when I’m asking you something?”

“H-Huh?” Zack looked over at Kunsel. “What’s up?”

Kunsel frowned, looking Zack right in the eyes. 

“Zack, how exactly do you feel?”

“…How do I…feel?”

“Yeah.” Kunsel looked back out towards the city, watching as snowflakes lazily drifted in the air.

“How do you feel about Cloud?”


	12. Gear Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack, you're a really honest guy. 
> 
> But are you being honest with yourself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience with me getting this chapter out. And thank you all so so much for the comments! Even if I don't reply to all of them please know that I read them over and over again and absolutely love them :D

Zack stared at Kunsel in silence for a few seconds, unsure how to comprehend what his friend had just said. The silence was made even more profound by the layer of snow that was covering the city. There wasn’t even a sound of a bird chirping or car driving by to distract them from it.

“I-I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me.” Kunsel replied, still looking out on the horizon. “Cloud. How do you feel about him?”

Zack felt cornered. His heart began to beat faster and faster even as he tried to convince himself that there was nothing to be worried about. His voice sounded high-pitched and unnatural as he tried to sound as casual as possible. “W-What do you mean?” Zack rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the side with a nervous grin. “I mean, I obviously get along with him, and he is my responsibility so…I mean, I dunno why you’re asking so—”

“Zack, cut the crap already.” Kunsel countered, looking back at Zack’s face in an attempt to catch his gaze. Zack’s eyes widened at the seriousness in Kunsel’s expression. “You know why I’m asking you. It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Kunsel sighed, glancing down at the ground as he adjusted the brim of his hat. “The way you look at him, the way you act around him…I’ve been wanting to say something for a while now but I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t my imagination.” Kunsel looked back at Zack. “Well, is it?”

Zack opened his mouth to retort that, yes, of course it was Kunsel’s imagination but stopped before he could get any sound out. After a moment he wordlessly closed his mouth, knowing that any response he could think of would have been a lie. How could he respond when he wasn’t even sure himself?

_Or am I really sure and just lying to myself?_

“…I thought so. You can’t say, can you?”

Zack sighed, leaning against the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. “…No…I can’t.”

“I was afraid of that.” Kunsel frowned, taking a step towards Zack. “You’re a good guy Zack, and at first I thought you wanting to help Cloud and find out more about his past was just part of that but now…I’m not so sure” Zack looked away from Kunsel’s gaze as he continued. “It’s just little stuff that keeps adding up. I mean, do you even realize how many pictures you have of him on your phone now?”

“What’s that supposed to—”

“Or the way you were watching him yesterday, when some of the neighborhood kids had come around?”

Zack remembered. Once word had gotten out that there was a real walking, talking robot working in Angeal’s shop, a few of the kids from the neighborhood had been shyly peeking in from outside to catch a glimpse of him, though they would run away as soon as Cloud got near the door. Eventually, one of the braver boys had gone up to Cloud while he was taking out the trash to stare at him in awe and ask hard-hitting questions like: ‘Are you really a robot?’

Cloud, not knowing what else to say, had answered ‘…Yes…’ a bit awkwardly, though he kneeled to the boy’s level to talk to him when he did. ‘My name’s Cloud’ he had added.

Eventually, upon learning that the robot wasn’t so scary after all, more and more kids would come around to talk to him. At first Zack had yelled at them not to touch Cloud’s legs or his earpieces but, after a while, he eventually gave up. They had learned to be careful about his earpieces, at least, and that was what mattered. Besides, how could he tell them to go away? Especially with the way Cloud would smile as the children talked to him or asked him to play a game of hide and seek. 

Even Zack couldn’t stop himself from taking more than a few pictures when about four of the kids had climbed Cloud like a tree and were hanging off of his arms, marveling and laughing at his amazing strength. 

“W-what…about it?”

“You were watching him for like…an hour, Zack. Angeal had thought you had gone on break and had gotten lost or something.”

“That’s—!” Zack turned away and nervously ran his hand through his hair, trying to fight the heat rising to his cheeks. “I mean…” But he couldn’t think of anything to say to justify it, besides that Cloud had looked so cute, smiling with the kids like that…

“Either way, Zack, what I’m trying to say is…I’m kinda worried, you know? We know that he can feel happiness and sadness and even guilt but when it comes to other stuff…”

Zack’s eyes snapped up towards Kunsel, flashing slightly. “And what the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Kunsel held up his hands defensively. “Relax, I’m not trying to say he doesn’t have feelings! I’m definitely way past thinking that now, but…I mean…I’m just worried you’re projecting stuff onto him.”

“What stuff…?” Zack asked cautiously.

“Well…” Kunsel trailed off, adjusting his hat awkwardly. “I just don’t want you getting yourself any deeper than you already are, Zack. Like getting your hopes up that maybe you and he can…” Kunsel seemed to be struggling with this last part. “I mean, friendship with robots and AI is one thing but something more than that—”

Zack had heard enough. He stood up from the wall, quickly dusting the snow off his arms and shoulders. “And who said anything about that, huh? Look, I appreciate you worrying about me, but you’re starting to sound like my Mom or something with how much you’re nagging me here.” Zack looked at Kunsel, who was still staring at him suspiciously. “I’ve got some stuff to do in the shop that I forgot about now, all right? I’ll text you later.” And without waiting for a response Zack headed inside, leaving an obviously exasperated Kunsel out in the snow.

_What the hell is he going on about with this “projecting” stuff, I’m not projecting anything!_

Zack sat down at his desk but couldn’t scrounge up any motivation to start working on any projects.

_Right?_

***

“Be careful carrying all that oil, Cloud. If it gets on your clothes it’ll be very hard to get out…”

“Ah leave him alone, Angeal, he’s fine!”

“Don’t worry, it’s not too heavy for me.” Cloud said with a light smile. It was true; Cloud was carrying a large container of oil that probably weighed about as much as him across the shop with no effort whatsoever. 

Zack found his mind wandering to when he first showed Cloud how to do work in Angeal’s shop. _He’s certainly come a long way from when he was running into every shelf and wall whenever he’d walk anywhere_

_It seems like that was ages ago, even though it’s only been a few months._ Zack thought as he watched Cloud. A few seconds went by before Zack realized that he had just stopped working, the wrench still held mid-air, to stare at Cloud.

_Shit…_ Zack put a hand to his mouth, quickly averting his gaze to the gears in front of him. _I really am staring at him a lot, aren’t I?_

Zack was happy to find a distraction a few seconds later as Denzel, one of the neighborhood kids, popped his head in the shop’s door. “Hey, is Cloud done with work yet? It’s almost the end of the day!”

“Hey, hey, you guys are so impatient. Didn’t your parents teach you anything about waiting?” Zack sighed. 

Cloud turned his head to look at Denzel. “We’re almost—”

“Cloud!”  
“Hey, watch it!”  
“Be careful!”

Denzel, Zack and Angeal all cried out in unison just in time for Cloud to slip on a stray oil can on the floor. ¬¬¬¬¬¬Amazingly Cloud was able to keep his balance and, with a few hops, avoided landing right on his butt. Unfortunately the motion caused a wave of oil to roll out of the top and right onto the robot, causing him to sputter and put the container down so he could wipe his face.

“O-Oh…Cloud I’m really sorry…!” Denzel twisted the bottom of his shirt nervously. “I didn’t mean to distract you…”

Zack immediately went to Cloud’s side, pulling his handkerchief out of his pocket and using it to help wipe the rest of the oil off of Cloud’s face, even going so far as to try to get some out of the robot’s hair. “Don’t worry about it Denzel, accidents happen.”

“Yeah, it’s ok. I’m fine.” Cloud looked to the boy with a light smile. “I don’t think I can go out like this, though.”

Zack threw his now oil-soaked handkerchief on the floor. “Yeah you definitely need a bath.” _Can robots even take baths? He never really sweats so I don’t think he’s taken one…_ “Angeal I’ll be back in a sec.”

Angeal gave a nod of acknowledgement as Zack quickly pulled Cloud up to his apartment, trying to avoid dripping oil all over the stairs as they went. _I mean he’s skin is basically just like human-skin so I’m sure he can get wet just fine._

“Okay, into the bathroom! Gotta get those clothes off and into the tub before it stains the fabric too bad, okay?”

“O-Okay.” Cloud replied nervously.

Zack went to close the bathroom door as Cloud hopped inside but then paused. “You know how to turn on the water and everything, right? And how to use the shampoo and stuff to wash your hair?”

Cloud pouted slightly. “Yes, of course I do, Zack!”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” Zack gave a sheepish grin then closed the door. _I should probably check on him in a few minutes anyway in case he breaks something in there or floods the bathroom._

While waiting, Zack glanced idly around his apartment, his gaze stopping as it reached the living room; namely, on Cloud’s expanding plant collection. There was now two cacti on the coffee table, as well as various lilies and smaller¬¬¬¬ green plants. They had also tried putting some of the plants on Zack’s windowsill but quickly ran out of room there, so Zack had quickly put together a few shelves along the wall for Cloud’s plants to go.

_There have to be at least 20 in here now. Aerith sure is getting her money’s worth from me lately, huh…_ Zack put a hand on his hip, sighing with a slight grin. _Well, it makes the apartment look nice, anyway. Plus it makes Cloud happy._

_“It’s obvious, isn’t it? …The way you look at him, the way you act around him…”_

Kunsel’s voice jolted Zack out of his calm frame of mind and sent it racing it again. _But that’s normal, isn’t it? To do something to make someone else happy?_ Zack glanced around the apartment again, rubbing a hand through his hair nervously. _I mean I went kind of far, but…_

Trying to distract himself for a final time, Zack listened at the bathroom door for any signs of a broken robot or bathroom. He didn’t hear anything suspicious, besides the fact that there was no water running.

“He probably really doesn’t know how to turn it on.” Zack muttered. He gave a quick knock before pulling the bathroom door open. “Hey, Cloud, if you need help just as—”

Zack froze. Cloud, who was bending over near the faucet and trying to figure out how it worked, froze as well, staring at Zack in shock. Cloud’s shocked expression quickly transitioned to one of terror as he realized what Zack was staring at.

Cloud was still wearing his soiled pants but had taken off the shirt and neatly folded it in the corner. However, what Zack couldn’t tear his eyes away from Cloud’s chest. It had several large gashes all along it that were so deep that Zack was able to see the metal framework beneath the skin, as well as some of Cloud’s wiring. The “SOLDIER” tattoo, which had been so prominent in the picture Zack had received, was barely legible. Only the S and O could be made out before the words became smudged and completely covered up by the scars.

Cloud’s chest had been obviously and painfully mutilated.

“C-Cloud, w-what…” Zack stuttered out then quickly moved towards Cloud, who backed up against the wall and desperately tried to cover up his chest with his arms. “You’re hurt, Cloud! When did this happen?!”

Cloud shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “Don’t, i-i-it’s nothing, I-I-…”

“Cloud, let me see! What the hell **happened** …?!” Zack grabbed Cloud’s hands to try and pull them away from the scars. “Why didn’t you tell me what happened so I could fix it? Shit, this looks so old that I—”

“Please, stop…!” Cloud cried, pulling his hands out of Zack’s grip so suddenly that Zack was forced backwards a few steps. Zack stared in shock as Cloud crouched down, looking like he was trying to curl in on himself to hide as much of the scars as possible.

A few seconds of silence passed between them before Cloud let out a hoarse whisper. “I…I didn’t…” Cloud took a shaky breath. Zack could feel his heart clench at how small and sad the robot looked. “I never wanted…I never wanted you to see this…”

Zack wasn’t sure how to respond at first. “You…didn’t?” Thinking it might help Cloud open up to him more, Zack lowered himself to his knees to be more on Cloud’s level. “Why not, Cloud? How did your chest get like this?”

“I-…” Cloud’s eyes flickered to Zack’s for a brief moment then slid back to the ground. “I-I didn’t remember at first. I just remembered that it was a mark of what I was…” Cloud hugged himself even tighter. “A mark that I was **broken** ”

Zack tried to think of something to say in response but whatever he might have thought of got stuck in his throat.

“But then after a while I finally remembered some of it.” The robot closed his eyes. “I was a failure so I-…I was deactivated. I was a failed SOLDIER model. I didn’t even deserve to have the logo anymore…” Cloud moved a trembling hand over the ruined “SOLDIER” logo. “This is proof of that. It’s why they scraped the logo off…”

Cloud trailed off, resting his head against the wall with the most defeated expression Zack had ever seen. “But now that you’ve seen it…you know. You know that I’m just a broken—”

Cloud’s sentence was interrupted with a gasp of surprise as he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. Zack put a hand on the back of Cloud’s head, trying to prevent himself from shaking. “What are you talking about, Cloud!? I’d never, ever think you were broken or a failure or whatever the hell it is you think you are…”

Cloud’s eyes widened in shock and Zack could feel him trembling in his arms. “B-But I…You…You don’t—?”

“Of course I don’t, Cloud! You’re not broken, you’re—” Zack took a breath. “You’re perfect the way you are.”

All of the tension seemed to release at that moment as Zack felt Cloud’s weight completely lean against him. The robot’s arms hung loosely at a side for a moment before they were shakily raised, his hands finally gripping the back of Zack’s shirt. “Really…?” Cloud whispered, his voice hoarse and subdued.

“Of course!” Zack pulled Cloud closer for emphasis. “You didn’t need to hide something like this from me, Cloud. It doesn’t change how I feel. So…no more keeping secrets, okay?”

Cloud’s grip around Zack tightened as he gave a mute nod. Zack smiled lightly in response until he realized the position he was in. Cloud was shirtless, which meant that Zack was pressed flush against Cloud’s bare skin.

_He’s so warm…_ Zack thought, his eyes flickering down to Cloud’s torso. _And his skin’s so soft, it feels—_ Zack’s eyes widened in realization, his hands curling into fists.

_Shit…_

He really couldn’t deny what Kunsel had said before.

_Shit._

It felt good, holding Cloud like this. Zack knew how much of a touchy person he was and would always be the one to initiate anything from high fives to hugs with friends and family. But this…

_I don’t want to let go._

This was different.

That night, Zack went through his evening routine like usual. He even said his normal cheerful “Good night Cloud, see you tomorrow!” when the robot got in his bed and plugged himself in to charge. Cloud gave him a small smile in response.

“Good night, Zack. And…” Cloud paused then shyly glanced to the side. “And about earlier…thank you.”

_Shit, he’s so cute…_

“It’s no problem! But seriously, I meant what I said, okay? I mean, there’s still stuff I don’t know about you yet, but even when or if I do find out, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still Cloud.” Zack grinned, giving Cloud’s hair a quick ruffle. 

Cloud nodded. “Right…Thanks, Zack.” Cloud lay down on the mattress, waiting for Zack to get comfortable before he shifted slightly and closed his eyes. 

It took Zack more than an hour to fall asleep as he stared up at the ceiling, not daring to move or so much as glance at the sleeping figure next to him. Even after he did fall asleep, he still woke up a few hours later. Well, at least Zack assumed it had been a few hours. It was still dark, at least, when Zack opened his eyes and it took them a few seconds to adjust. After waking up slightly, Zack realized that there was something warm pressed right up against his chest, with two arms curled around his waist. 

He sat up slightly, putting his weight on his elbow as he looked down at Cloud. The robot was holding on to him in his sleep, with his head resting against Zack’s chest. When Zack looked closer, there was a light frown on the robot’s lips and an uneasiness about the rest of his features.

_I guess he had another nightmare, huh…He must have grabbed onto me so he could go back to sleep_ Zack gently brushed a few strands of hair out of Cloud’s eyes, pausing before he slid his hand down along the robot’s face. Zack thoughtfully ran his thumb along one of Cloud’s face plates, watching as Cloud’s expressions relaxed slightly.

_What the hell am I gonna do about you, Cloud…_ Zack put his head back down on the pillow, his face now on the same level as Cloud’s. He brushed his hand along Cloud’s cheek again, taking in the feeling of the other’s skin.

“I can’t even lie to myself about it anymore.” Zack whispered, pressing his forehead against Cloud’s. Zack closed his eyes, a terrible mixture of relief and dread swarming through his mind and body.

Admitting to himself that, yes, he did love Cloud soothed Zack’s worries for a brief moment before his head was filled with fears and doubts that kept him up the rest of the night.

***

Luckily for Zack, the next day was his day off. He probably wouldn’t have done well trying to fix anything while running on no sleep.

“Zack, are you feeling okay?” Cloud’s voice caused Zack to practically jump out of his seat at the table. The coffee he was drinking was nearly knocked off the table as well before Cloud quickly got it.

“Y-Yeah, of course I am! Why do you ask?” Zack answered hurriedly, trying his best to slow his heart rate.

Cloud set the coffee cup in a safer spot on the table then gave Zack a worried frown. “You’ve got really dark circles under your eyes, plus you seem really jumpy…Did something happen?”

“Of course not, everything’s fine Cloud! I’m feeling great so don’t let me interrupt your plant watering, okay?” Zack offered Cloud a smile but even he could tell how strained it was. Cloud gave him a suspicious glance but apparently decided not to push the issue. After giving Zack a quick worried look he picked up the frog-shaped watering can that Aerith gave him and began to diligently water his plant and flower collection. 

Before Zack could delve back into the thoughts that had kept him awake throughout the night, the sound of his phone ringing in the bedroom caught his attention. _Maybe Angeal has something extra for me to do. It’d be nice to have something else to think about, at least…_ Zack jogged into his bedroom, picking up the phone and answering it in one swift motion without checking the number on the screen.

“Yo, this is Zack.”

**“Hello, Zack. It’s been a while.”**

Zack nearly dropped his phone in shock and his voice took a moment to become unstuck in his throat. “You’re—”

**“That’s right. I guess I can at least introduce myself, since you’ve figured out my name already. I apologize that it’s taken me so long to reply but circumstances have been…”** The voice paused. **“…Less than ideal, until now.”**

Zack’s eyes darted over to Cloud, who had his back turned to him and didn’t seem to be paying any attention to his conversation. “I can’t believe it, you’re actually…Wait, I was right? Your name’s—”

The voice brightened slightly, making Zack assume he was smiling. **“That’s correct, Zack. This is Reeve speaking. And I think it might be time I finally granted you a face to face meeting…and some answers, if you’re willing to hear them.”**


	13. Gear 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud's past.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, Cloud! I’ve just got a dumb errand I’ve gotta run, it won’t be anything too interesting.” Zack hopped on one foot as he pulled on the other foot’s snow boot. “You’re okay staying here, right? I mean, I don’t want you to be too bored…”

Cloud watched Zack with a gloomy expression. “I guess…”

“Hey, come on, don’t give me that look.” Zack grabbed his coat out the closet and began to pull it on. _If he frowns at me any more I’m gonna end up giving in…_ “Why don’t you go over to Aerith’s or somewhere in the city? I mean, somewhere that has a lot of people, at least” Zack added quickly.

“A lot of people...” Cloud glanced out the window thoughtfully. “What about the library?”

Zack blinked in surprise. This was the first time he had ever heard of Cloud wanting to go there. “Huh? I mean— Sure, why not?” _I’m pretty sure the way to get there is pretty crowded and you don’t have to go down any alleyways or anything, so he shouldn’t get surprised by any more assassin robot things_ “Heh, it’s not really a place I would usually spend my free time but if you wanna go there it shouldn’t be a problem. What makes you wanna check it out, anyway? Wanna pick up some reading material?”

Cloud’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly as his eyes lowered to the floor. “...Yeah. It shouldn’t take long, though.”

“All right then. I’ll see you la—” Zack froze as Cloud suddenly wrapped his arms around his back and pulled him into a gentle hug. Zack’s eyes widened, his entire body feeling rooted to the spot. “C-…Cloud what’s…wrong?” His voice was stilted and his smile was obviously strained. 

Zack was also having a lot of difficulty trying to hide the blush that was rapidly rising from his neck to his face.

“…In the shows I was watching, this is what people do when someone has to leave for a little while” Cloud pulled away slightly, looking up at Zack with a hesitant expression. “Am I…not supposed to?”

“W-What? Of…Of course not! You can hug all you like, Cloud, it’s no problem!” Zack answered quickly, taking the opportunity to playfully ruffle Cloud’s hair in an effort to dispel the tension. 

_I can’t tell him that it’s really not okay now, especially not when he makes that face. It’s just that…_

“It just surprised me for a sec, that’s all”

_It’s just that you don’t know how it makes me feel when you’re holding me like that, Cloud. And it feels like I’m lying…when I’m sure you don’t mean anything by it but I still get so worked up…_

“Well, have fun today, okay? And call me if you need anything.” Zack gave Cloud a quick smile and a wave as he turned towards the door. “I’ll see you later!”

Cloud waved back, giving Zack such an innocent smile that it made him feel guilty for not telling Cloud the complete truth about where he was going. “See you later, Zack.”

***

The streets were silent save for the crunching of Zack’s boots in the snow and the thoughts running through his head.

**“Meet me at the last old warehouses near the end of the slums. Warehouse No. 7, I believe…There shouldn’t be anyone there that should bother us.”** Is what Reeve had said. **“And Zack, if you are coming…make sure not to bring anyone.”**

_I can just hear Kunsel’s voice in my head now._ Zack sighed to himself, absentmindedly adjusting the scarf around his neck. _I’m sure he’d say something like “Are you an idiot? Wait, forget I asked that part, of course you are. But are you seriously THIS much of an idiot?”_ Zack’s lips curled into an annoyed smirk. _Definitely something like that. But, I mean…he wouldn’t be wrong about that for once._

Zack instinctively glanced over his shoulder and, not seeing anyone behind him, kept on walking. Despite not seeing a soul, Zack still couldn’t shake the creeping feeling that he was being watched. 

_I just really hope this day doesn’t end up with my body being thrown in a ditch somewhere._ Zack sighed, his pace slowing down slightly. _Then again, at least this gives me something to keep my mind off…_ The image of Cloud’s smiling face passed through Zack’s mind. _…that._

Zack’s hand unconsciously clenched the front of his jacket. _Cloud, if I told you how I felt, would you even understand?_

Zack could imagine the conversation. If he told Cloud he loved him, wouldn’t Cloud just smile and say ‘I really care about you too, Zack.’? That would probably be worse than being outright rejected. Cloud obviously worried about him and enjoyed spending time with him in the shop but that wasn’t the same thing as what Zack was feeling.

Zack nearly jumped out of his skin as a trash can suddenly crashed to the ground. “What—?!” Zack spun around, sighing in relief as he saw an alley cat scamper away. “Just a cat, huh…” He let out a long sigh. “Relax Zack, just relax…you’re gonna end up with as many gray hairs as Angeal at this rate.”

Zack, realizing he had finally reached the warehouse district, began to count the buildings out loud. “5, 6…7, there we go.” A sudden wave of hesitation kept Zack’s feet frozen to the ground. “Well…” Zack rubbed the back of his neck, smiling nervously. “Hope I don’t end up regretting this.”

Taking one final deep breath, Zack slowly walked over to the door and, to Zack’s surprise, it opened effortlessly. “Huh, I figured I would have to at least break a lock or something…” Zack opened the door the rest of the way, feeling as if he was being swallowed by the darkness as his footsteps echoed on the concrete floor.

“Shit, where’s the light switch in here…” Zack stopped, squinting as he peered into the blackness surrounding him. Suddenly, he heard what sounded to be footsteps drawing closer to him. His heart began to pound erratically.

“H-hello? Who’s…who’s there?!”

Suddenly, all of the lights in the warehouse turned on causing Zack to reflexively shield his eyes with his arm. “What the—”

“So, you actually came…” 

Zack quickly blinked to help adjust his eyes to the light. His jaw dropped when he finally realized what, or who, he was looking at.

The warehouse was completely empty except for some rusted mining equipment around the perimeter and a small table directly in the middle. There were two seats on either side of it and, in one of them, a man was sitting. He looked to be in his 30s and, once Zack was able to study him better, he seemed like just the kind of person Zack imagined whenever he heard his voice. 

He looked rather serious, with his blue business suit and red tie, though his eyes looked slightly amused. He also seemed to be trying to make Zack feel more at ease by leaning back in his chair slightly and crossing his legs in a more casual position.

“You’re…” Zack started, inexplicably drawn to walking towards the other man. “Reeve…right?”

“That’s right. It’s nice to finally meet you face to face…Zack.” Reeve gestured towards the seat opposite him once Zack got to the table. “Please, have a seat. I’ve been wanting to be able to speak with you like this for a long time.”

There was an awkward silence between them as Zack stared at Reeve in disbelief, still standing near the chair offered to him.

“Well? What’s wrong?” Reeve quirked his head as he studied Zack’s expression then shrugged with a self-depreciating smile. “Haha, you don’t have to say it. I can already tell by the look in your eyes…” Reeve tapped his temple. “You don’t fully trust me, do you?”

Zack flinched, a feeling of shame and hesitation washing over him. “I-…”

Reeve raised a hand to silence him. “You don’t have to explain it. I know…I haven’t exactly been upfront with you. And I’m sure not seeing my face or hearing my real name this entire time hasn’t exactly inspired confidence either.” Reeve gestured towards Zack. “And yet…you still came here on your own. For all you know, I could have had a room full of Turks just like the one who was sent after you before.”

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “Well it’s not like that thought didn’t cross my mind. I mean, hell…it crossed my mind a lot. But…” Zack looked at Reeve, his expression open and sincere. “The way I see it, you still work for the government, right? And it was you that night…when me and Kunsel went down into the computer lab. You were the one that slipped your code underneath the door so we could get at some information about Cloud. You were the one that put the idea of “SOLDIER” in my head and you called me to try and warn me about Reno before he got there.” Zack nodded to himself then took the seat across from Reeve, who was staring at him in surprise. 

Zack smiled gently. “So…thank you. I know you’ve been trying to help us out this whole time. As best you could, anyway.”

Reeve looked to be at a loss for words at first. After a few seconds he let out a small laugh and shook his head, causing Zack to tilt his head in confusion. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You really are the person I guessed you would be, Zack Fair.”

Zack blinked a few times then frowned slightly. “I hope that’s a good thing…”

“You’re a little too quick to trust people, Zack. It’s dangerous to be that trusting in this world but—” Reeve laughed again. “It’s refreshing, too. Maybe if more people were like you…” Zack waited patiently to hear the rest of his sentence but the other man merely shrugged. “Anyway. You didn’t just come here to hear my life’s philosophy, right? You came here for some answers.” 

Zack leaned over slightly to watch as Reeve bent down to pick up a large briefcase of the floor. It was covered in so many locks that Zack was sure he would have to wait another ten minutes to see it opened. However, much to his surprise, after placing it on the table Reeve’s nimble fingers made quick work of the locks, spinning each numbered code in a matter of seconds. 

Zack couldn’t help but let out a small “Woah” as Reeve opened the case. His admiration soon mixed with confusion as all the case revealed was a normal looking laptop. “Uh, not trying to be rude here but did you really need all the security for that? I mean, you could’ve just brought the laptop with you.”

Reeve gave Zack a coy smile that obviously said ‘You have no idea what you’re talking about, kid.’ Even though Reeve didn’t say that out loud, Zack sill slightly resentful.

“It’s because what’s contained in this laptop should have been destroyed months ago. And, if certain people knew it still existed…much less that I was about to show you its contents, I would have much more to worry about than a small Turk model coming after me.”

Zack leaned back slightly, crossing his arms. “Really? Is what’s on there really that dangerous?”

“Oh, it is.” If Zack didn’t know better, he would have sworn that Reeve seemed almost too excited to talk about this, almost as if he appreciated having Zack as an audience for such a dangerous reveal of information.

“After all, very few people know about the existence of the SOLDIER program.” Reeve swiftly opened the laptop, typing in a few passcodes to gain access to the desktop. “And a few of those people technically shouldn’t even know of its’ existence.” Reeve typed in another passcode and, with that, the file entitled “S Project” opened.

Zack leaned forward in his chair again, uncrossing his arms as he got a better look at the laptop. His eyes widened in shock as an array of robotic engineering plans opened before him, one after the other. “I’ve never…seen anything like this before.” It was true. The plans were highly complex, listing formulas and circuitry organization for strength enhancement, chemical formulas to exponentially increase the endurance of the skin and joints, the physics of weapon compartment utilization and on and on.

“It’s almost like—”

“More like an engineering plan for a human-shaped battle cruiser, isn’t it?”

Zack slumped in his chair, running a hand through his hair. “So it is true…” He shook his head. “No, that’s not right. I’ve known it’s been true for a while. The SOLDIER program…”

“Its overall goal was to make humanoid robotic super-soldiers that would give the government a massive advantage over anyone who would oppose it.” Reeve finished his sentence. “If we could build a robot that could take the place of 10…No, 20 men, then there would be no need for as many human casualties.”

Zack only seemed to be half listening. “So Cloud really was built to be a weapon, huh…” Zack shook his head again, forcing a light smile to his lips. “Well, can’t say I’m really surprised after seeing him pull swords out of his legs.”

Reeve nodded gravely then turned his attention back to the laptop, clicking open a few more folders. This time, they seemed to be video files. “However, my goal…” Reeve opened the first file. “My goal was to develop an AI that could learn and develop just the same as a human mind. An AI that could come closer to the idea, the mere concept of the human ‘soul’ than anyone ever thought possible.” Reeve sighed wearily. “Unfortunately, I needed the government funding to make that a reality.”

The video file began to play, showing a messy-looking laboratory with wires and various computer screens set about haphazardly. Suddenly, Reeve walked in front of the camera, wearing a white laboratory coat. Zack was about to ask where this was but then stopped when the Reeve on video adjusted the camera so that it was focused on something that Zack found much more important.

It was Cloud.

**“Is this recording?”** The video-Reeve coughed and adjusted the collar of his lab coat. Cloud, who was watching him with curiosity, was sitting in a chair a few feet away. There were at least a dozen wires hooked up onto each of his ear pieces, each running to the different screens and computer systems. He was wearing an outfit that looked like the one that Zack had found him in all those months ago, except it was clean and it had more pieces to it. In addition to the black zip-up bodysuit and half arm-length gloves, he had a silver pauldron over his left shoulder and a large belt around his waist. **“Right, good. Well then…Day 175 of the SOLDIER experiments. Prototype 1.57, activated yesterday, still seems to be functioning well. Though…”** He chuckled softly. **“I guess I can ask him that too. So how are you feeling?”**

The video-Cloud tilted his head slightly, watching Reeve’s movements with curiosity. **“I feel…fine. How are you?”**

Zack didn’t need to watch the rest of the video to realize what he was seeing. “This….This is the audio me and Kunsel heard!”

Reeve nodded. “That was one of the only audio files that survived after…the incident.” Zack could tell by his expression that he would find out what that was, whether he liked it or not. “These are the only records that I was able to salvage” And with that, Reeve clicked onto the next video. The setting was the same, except this time Cloud standing up and shirtless. There were wires hooked up all along his torso instead of his ear pieces, connected to machines that looked to be calibrating some of Cloud’s body settings, if Zack was to take a guess. He could also see that the SOLDIER logo was intact, just as it had been in that picture he had gotten so many months ago. At first, the video was just filled with the sounds of machinery as Cloud stared off blankly in the distance. 

Then Reeve and another man walked into the frame. Zack wasn’t exactly sure why, but he immediately disliked the other man the moment he set eyes on him. His hair was slicked back into a messy, greasy-looking ponytail and he seemed to wear a permanently menacing and sarcastic smile on his face. 

**“Well, Reeve, I assume you’ve decided to stop wasting time on your little pet project, hm? How about we actually get to _testing_ it to see how it functions? After all, you weren’t put in charge of this division just so you could twiddle away with screens all day”** The man tapped on one of the computers for emphasis.

Zack felt his whole body begin to tense. _That voice…it was the one that came around when me and Kunsel were down there. I think Kunsel said his name was Hojo, right?_ Zack’s eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Cloud turn to look towards the two of them, a inquisitive expression reflected in his eyes. _And what’s with him calling Cloud “it”?!_

**“I…”** Reeve started, looking between Hojo and Cloud. **“Professor Hojo, if you could just give me a few more days…His learning program is progressing at an unexpectedly fast rate and I don’t want to lose this opportunity to—”**

**“To _what_?”** Hojo interrupted harshly, causing Reeve to flinch slightly. Cloud’s eyes widened slightly and his mouth curved into a concerned frown as he looked back at Hojo who was shaking his head with a smirk. **“Bah, don’t even try and start with that 1 to 1 human based AI correlation nonsense, Reeve. These machines are being produced for one thing and one thing only…and that’s to be the most efficient weapons ever created!”** Hojo turned and walked away, putting a decisive end to the conversation. 

Reeve let out a long sigh after the other man had disappeared, rubbing his face in frustration. **“Why do I even bother trying to talk with him…”**

Cloud, meanwhile, was looking down at his hands. Zack recognized the sad, pensive expression on his face and for a split-second felt the urge to force his way through the screen and give him a hug.

**“Well, I guess that’s that…You’ll be starting some combat training and simulations tomorrow. I know you were interested in going through some more learning modules but I’m sure we can do that after—”**

**“My true purpose…”** Cloud suddenly interrupted, still staring at his hands. **“Is that why I was created? To be a weapon…?”** Cloud frowned, letting his hands fall into his lap. **“Is that why I exist?”**

Reeve looked taken aback. **I, well…I mean, yes, that is why this program was—”**

**“Is it the same way for humans?”** Cloud looked up at Reeve with an unwavering expression. **“Were you created for the purpose of being a scientist?”**

**“No, no, of course not. This is what I wanted to do. I don’t think anyone really is born with a particular purpose in mind…”**

Cloud stared at him in silence for a few moments then lowered his head slightly. **“I see…”**

Both the scientist and the robot were silent for a few moments. The video-Reeve looked about to say something but then was interrupted by Cloud. 

**“Yesterday, you were talking about how people usually have ‘friends’ and ‘families’. So, is this another thing that makes me different from humans?”** Cloud looked down at his SOLDIER logo, idly running his fingers along the letters. **“I don’t have any friends or family. And my purpose…it’s already been decided, hasn’t it?”**

Before Zack could say anything, the video suddenly ended and immediately transitioned into a different one in a new location. Instead of the lab, Hojo and Reeve were standing in a steel-enclosed room that had a small window overlooking a large arena below them. There were several metal robotic arms around the arena with clamps attached sticking out of the walls as well as various weapons that the military had at their disposal: tanks, flamethrowers, land mines…Zack had never such a diverse collection.

It was obviously a weapons testing field that allowed the scientists a safe space to view the chaos. And Cloud was right in the middle of it, the large sword that he had used on Reno held in his hands. Zack felt his heart begin to pound with anxiety on seeing Cloud surrounded by weapons.

Hojo began speaking into an intercom mic. **“Good, the weapon ejection function seems to be working seamlessly. Now let’s see it in action. Begin Weapon Hazards: Stage 1.”**

Video-Reeve folded his arms, watching with curiosity as another voice blasted over the intercom. **“Roger. Beginning remote-controlled weapon functions.”**

In a matter of seconds, guns were aimed strictly at Cloud. **“And, fire!”** Zack nearly jumped out of his chair as bullets, grenades and large tank shells were sent flying at the robot who, much to his relief and shock, easily moved to avoid them and began to run along the weapons field at an inhuman speed.

_I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…After all, I’ve seen what he can do._ Zack’s memory briefly flashed back to how Cloud looked that day, how he had easily dodged all of Reeve’s attacks and went after him with that cold look in his eyes. _…Not that I want to remember._

**“Ha! It looks like you actually did know what you were doing, Reeve. Then again, if it had been destroyed within the first 10 seconds, you really would be the biggest failure in the department.”** Hojo sneered. The Reeve in the video straightened up slightly, obviously trying not to let Hojo get to him.

**“Of course. His design is ideal for maneuvering and close-range combat.”** Reeve replied coolly, just as Cloud jumped on top of the tank. He easily impaled it with his sword, taking a moment to drag the sword all along the tank’s body and jumped off just as the tank split apart with a small explosion. 

From there, Cloud ran from weapon to weapon, easily destroying each one with a slice of his sword before he could be hit. **“As you can see, he’s able to break through even the toughest grade armor with a small amount of effort.”** The Reeve in the video looked to Hojo with a satisfied smirk. **“I trust even you could tell how efficient he is, Professor Hojo.”**

Hojo obviously wasn’t having the amazed reaction that the video-Reeve had hoped. Instead, he was stroking his chin with that menacing sneer still plastered on his face. **“Yes, very efficient…against our slowest, remote-controlled weapons, at least. But oh yes, of course it’s very impressive. I’m sure we can at least go to Stage 2 today…Unless you have any issues with that, Reeve?”**

**“Stage 2? I wasn’t told about any Stage—”**

Hojo put his face back at the intercom microphone before Reeve could finish. **“Begin Military Personnel Combat Hazards: Stage 2”**

The Reeve in the video whirled around to look at Hojo, his eyes widening with horror. **“Military personnel…?! You can’t mean—”**

**“Oh, I do.”** Hojo gave Reeve a grin, his eyes glittering with menace. **“After all, on the battlefield it won’t just be tanks and artillery that the SOLDIER robots would be facing. It would be silly to go to all the trouble of testing it in unrealistic conditions, don’t you agree?”**

The door in the testing facility suddenly opened and a swarm of army soldiers entered. Cloud lowered his sword, staring in surprise as the soldiers surrounded him, guns drawn and pointed straight at him.

Another voice blasted over the intercom. **“Prepare to engage in 10 seconds. 10…9…”**

**“No! Professor Hojo, you can’t honestly expect…You’re sending our own men in there to get slaughtered?!”** Reeve seemed to finally lose his composure as he slammed his fist down on the computer terminal. **“I demand you stop this immediately! This is completely unethical, not to mention downright monstrous!”**

**“8…7…”**

Hojo chuckled **“Oh, so now it’s ‘monstrous’ and ‘unethical’? Please, spare me your bleeding-heart hypocrisy…If we sent prisoners of war or hardened criminals set for execution in there, would you be so quick to judge me as a monster?”**

**“I— …”**

**“6…5…4…”**

**“No, you wouldn’t, would you? What do you think your precious machine is going to be doing in the battlefield? Having a nice little chat with the enemy?”**

**“3…2…1…”**

All of the soldiers cocked their weapons at once. The sound made Zack’s stomach churn as 50 guns all set their sights directly on Cloud’s head.

**“0. Begin combat.”**

Zack wanted to look away. He didn’t want to see this…He didn’t want to see Cloud, _his_ Cloud, slaughter dozens of soldiers.

Zack turned his face away from the video but then, after a few seconds of silence, was drawn back to looking at it by Hojo’s voice. For the first time, he sounded like he had completely lost his self-control.

**“What the hell is it doing?! Didn’t it hear its’ orders?”** Hojo pounded his fist near the intercom microphone. **“Engage in combat!”**

Cloud, however, wasn’t moving. Even with the dozens of guns trained right on him, he was still standing in the exact same position. After a few seconds he did finally move, but only to move his sword to one hand and lower it so that it was resting on the ground.

Hojo grit his teeth in fury as Reeve stared in shock. Even the soldiers surrounding Cloud looked confused and began to look at one another.

**“He’s…not going to fight?”** Reeve muttered softly.

**“SOLDIER prototype! What is the meaning of this?!”** Hojo practically spat into the intercom microphone. **“Your orders are to destroy the enemy in front of you. Are you malfunctioning?!”**

Cloud turned his head towards them and began to slowly shake his head. **“I…refuse.”**

Hojo looked ready to explode with fury. **“You…refuse? You can’t _refuse_ …Do you even understand what you are?!”**

Cloud looked to the side. **“I know…my purpose is to be a weapon, right?”** He looked towards the soldiers then back at them. **“But I can’t. I can’t kill these people. They have friends and family that would miss them, right? So…”** Cloud split his sword into two and placed each half back in the compartments in his legs. **“I refuse. I don’t want to kill them. I don’t…I don’t want to kill anyone.”**

The two scientists stood in silence for a moment. Reeve was staring at Cloud with a mixture of amazement and relief, though that only lasted until Hojo began to chuckle. It started off quiet and suppressed then gradually grew into full-blown laughter. 

It was the most unpleasant and unsettling laugh Zack had ever heard in his life.

**“Haha! It doesn’t want to fight now, is that right?! Well, Reeve, you’ve failed in the most spectacular way possible! Even I hadn’t prepared myself for this…A pacifist weapon?! The very concept, the idea…Ahaha…It just makes you want to die laughing!”** Hojo sneered as he pulled out a remote control from his pocket. **“Well, I suppose we’ll see just how strong the will of that ridiculous AI you designed is, won’t we Reeve?”**

Hojo pressed a button on his remote, causing several of the robotic claws to activate and head straight for Cloud.

**“Hojo, what the hell are you doing?!”** The Reeve in the video shouted, watching helplessly as Cloud was unable to react in time to avoid being grabbed by the arms. Just as the robot began to struggle, another robotic arm emerged and sent a huge volt of electricity straight at the back of Cloud’s neck. Cloud screamed in pain for just a moment then went limp, held up only by the robotic arms. 

**“What does it look like, Reeve?”** Hojo looked back at him, his lips curling into an ominous smirk. **“We’re sending that failure of a prototype back up to the lab for…re-education.”**

Zack’s hands, which were curled into fists in his lap, were now clenched so tightly that he could feel his nails digging painfully into his palms. Even so, he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t look away now, even if he knew what was probably coming next.

The Reeve in front of him was hesitating. “This…is the last video that was salvaged.” He looked at Zack just as the video began to play. “It may be hard for you to watch this.”

Suddenly the warehouse was filled with a sound that made Zack’s blood run cold. 

**“Stop…Stop…Please…!”**

Zack couldn’t stop himself. He looked at the screen, unable to turn his eyes away.

Cloud was back in the lab. This time, his arms and legs were chained to the wall and his ear pieces were both hooked up to thick, black wires that ran to a strange machine with a single knob. There was a scientist at the machine, watching nervously as he kept his hand on the dial. 

**“It’s been three days of this, prototype. You keep begging us to stop and yet…Well, you know how to get us to stop, don’t you?”** Hojo appeared on screen, holding his hands behind his back. He walked up to Cloud, his face inches away from the robot’s. **“Answer the question: Will you or will you not obey your orders?”** Hojo tilted his head slightly. **“Even after activating the fail-safe, the SOLDIER mode, you’re still resisting, aren’t you? Even if that should completely override any other programming in that AI of yours.”**

Cloud raised his head slightly and gritted his teeth, staring right back at Hojo. His eyes were that odd green color that Zack had seen in the fight against Reno. **“I-…I…r-re…refuse…”** He choked out. Hojo narrowed his eyes and looked back at the scientist at the dial. 

**“Turn it up to 60,000 volts this time. And set the timer for 15 minutes.”**

**“S-sir…”**

**“What are you hesitating for?! Do it!”**

The scientist looked at Cloud for a moment as if to say ‘I’m sorry’ then closed his eyes as he turned the dial. The machine sparked as bolts of electricity shot through the wires and straight into Cloud’s ear pieces.

The air was filled with the sound of Cloud’s screams once again as the robot’s face contorted with pain. He desperately pulled on the chains binding his arms and legs, his entire body writhing and twisting in agony.

**“Well, as much fun as this has been…”** Hojo took his glasses off, wiping them against his jacket. The casual gesture seemed even crueler in the face of Cloud’s screams of pain. **“This protoype will need to be scrapped by the end of the day.”** Hojo glanced to the side as Reeve walked into view of the camera. **“You’ll be starting from square one, Reeve.”**

Reeve stared at Cloud as the robot continued to cry out in pain.

**“I…understand.”**

There was a loud clatter as Zack stood up so quickly that his chair flew to the ground.

“Shut it off!” Zack shouted, barely able to keep the tremble in his voice under control. “Shut the damn thing off before I do!”

Reeve looked at Zack calmly, which only served to infuriate the mechanic more. “I told you it would be difficult to watch, Zack. I—”

“Shut the hell up!!” Zack slammed his fists on the table. Even after Reeve turned the computer off, Zack was sure he could still hear Cloud’s cries of pain ringing in his ear. “You were there, weren’t you?!” Zack slammed his fists against the table again, this time so hard that he left a dent in the metal. “You were there the whole time they were doing that to Cloud!”

Reeve looked to the side. “…Yes. I was there.”

“And you just…you just watched?!” Zack reached over, grabbing Reeve by the collar and forcing him into a standing position. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you do something!? You were right there and you just…you just let him get tortured like that!!” Reeve looked to the side as Zack’s grip on his collar tightened. “Answer me, Reeve!” Zack’s voice was shaking as he became overwhelmed with rage. “How could you just let that happen?! He still…He still has nightmares about being tortured like that! Do you hear me?! Or don’t you care…?!”

Reeve looked back at Zack. “…I didn’t have a choice.” Zack’s grip loosened slightly as he noticed the deep sadness in the other’s eyes. “I didn’t have a choice, Zack. Do you realize what would have happened if I had fought against Hojo’s orders?”

“I—…”

“If you had been there, I’m sure you would have tried to fight against it. But that most likely would have ended with you dead and Cloud with no hope of escaping his fate.” Reeve continued on, staring at Zack evenly. “He was scheduled to be deactivated and sent to the incinerator at the end of the day.”

Zack let go of Reeve’s collar, staring at him in horror. “The incinerator…?!”

Reeve straightened his tie with a sigh. “That’s right. I knew that this would be my only chance to spare Cloud from being destroyed and to survive the entire ordeal more or less intact”

Zack sank back into his chair as the blind anger began to leave his body, replaced by exhaustion and sorrow. “So…what did you do?”

Reeve sighed, sitting back down as well. “Well, Hojo isn’t the type to waste his time with the destruction of a failed prototype. The job was handed down to one of his subordinates, luckily, one who was terrified of displeasing him.” Reeve looked back up at Zack, a slight glimmer in his eye. “And one who was horrified to find out that the incinerator had just so happened to break down an hour before Cloud was scheduled to be deactivated.”

Zack’s eyes widened in realization. “You…”

“Ahaha, no I didn’t go down there myself to break it. But I did send one of my robot friends down there to do it for me…Even if he doesn’t look human, Cait Sith is just as nimble and quiet as any master spy.”

Zack leaned forward slightly. “So then, what happened? How did Cloud—”

“How did he end up in the scrap pile? Well…” Reeve folded his arms, leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. “I happened to mention to the subordinate just how displeased Hojo might be if he would return to the lab and see the failed prototype still there. And how his displeasure would most likely end up being taken out on the person who he had put in charge of the whole ordeal…” Reeve tilted his head, smirking lightly. “I was helpful enough to suggest simply deactivating the prototype and secretly sending him off to the scrap pile, with no one being the wiser.”

Reeve frowned suddenly, uncrossing his arms. “Unfortunately…I couldn’t stop them from trying to scrape the SOLDIER logo off Cloud’s chest or from completely erasing most of the files from his programming. Though I suppose they hadn’t erased the SOLDIER mode from his AI, considering what happened when he fought Reno.”

Zack was still too in shock to question how Reeve knew about what happened with Reno. “But even if he wasn’t being incinerated, he still could’ve been completely scrapped! If I hadn’t found him when I did, Cloud would’ve—”

“Been turned into scrap metal? Believe me, I know…I know the risk that I was taking. But it was the only option I could think of at the time. It was the only way to give him a chance. And, of course, I was planning on taking him from whoever found him. In secret, so that I would have a chance to hide him outside of this city, somewhere he couldn’t be found.”

Zack nearly fell off his chair in surprise. “Y-You…You were gonna take Cloud away?!”

“Yes. I was.” He answered simply.

Zack stared at Reeve hesitantly. “But…you didn’t. Why? Or…are you still planning on taking him away now?”

Reeve shook his head, giving Zack a sad smile. “No, I’m not.” Reeve took out his phone, opening it and going back to Zack’s online forum post. “I was hoping that someone would be foolish enough to post on one of these message boards, asking for advice on such an advanced humanoid robot model. When I saw your description I thought: ‘This is it. This is the person who found him.’ I was able to trace your IP address back to the shop you work at and was making plans to send another one of my robots there in secret to take him back. But…”

Zack stared at Reeve, unsure of what to think. “…But what?”

“But then, I saw this…” Reeve held up his phone, showing the picture that Zack had taken all those months ago. It was Cloud, giving a shy but sincere smile at the camera. 

Zack blinked a few times. “Sorry, I don’t think I get it. Seeing that it was Cloud made you not wanna take him?”

Reeve chuckled. “No. It wasn’t that. It was his expression, Zack.”

“His…expression?”

“I’m the one that built him. I designed every aspect of his AI and programming. I’ve known him even longer and better than you Zack, and yet…I had ever seen him smile like that, not in all the time he was in the government labs.” 

Zack stared in silence, unsure of what to say.

“I thought: This is it. This is his chance to be happy.”

Reeve stood up, taking a few steps away from the table.

“You named him. You took him into your home and treated him in a way that even I hadn’t been able to…” Reeve looked back at Zack with a smile. 

“You treated him like a human being.”


	14. Gear 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could a robot want at the library?

Once Zack was out the door, Cloud moved to the window to watch the mechanic trudge away in the snow. Even after Zack had disappeared down the street Cloud couldn’t pull his eyes away at first and stayed at the window, lost in thought, until the snow had covered up the footprints left behind. Even after he turned away and began to search the apartment for his own hat and scarf, Cloud’s mind kept wandering back to a week prior, to the conversation that was motivating him to take a sudden trip to the library. 

¬¬***

Cloud had been behind the shop taking out some trash when he spotted a few of his favorite neighborhood cats sitting next to the cans.

“Oh…you’re hungry, aren’t you?” Cloud had said, crouching down to make the cats feel more at ease. “I don’t think we have any cat food inside but I’m sure there’s something in the fridge upstairs…” Cloud had smiled to himself as one of the cats, a smaller black one, had come up to him and began rubbing against his legs.

Much to Cloud’s relief, it didn’t seem as if cats found his metal legs too off-putting. Cloud had continued to pet some of the other cats that were now approaching him until a familiar voice startled them away.

“Ah, didn’t know ya were such a cat fan there, lad!”

Cloud’s eyes immediately snapped upwards, widening slightly at the site of the odd-looking cat nonchalantly sitting on top of one of the trash cans. 

“Cait Sith…?” Cloud stood up, brushing some of the snow off his legs. “What are you doing here?”

“Ah, not so much as even a ‘Hello, how are you’? Guess your manners haven’t improved a bit now, have they Cloud?” Cait Sith stood up on the lid of the can, smiling. “Just paying a friendly visit, nothing wrong with that now is there.”

Cloud shook his head, though there was still one thing that was bothering him. “How did you find where I lived?”

Cait Sith looked started for a moment then quickly waved it off. “Well you’re not exactly too hard to find now, are ya? You’re a bit conspicuous walking around with those things on your head.” He replied, pointing to his own ears to indicate Cloud’s ear pieces and headband.

Cloud frowned in response, self-consciously putting a hand on one of his ear pieces. “I see…”

“Aw come on now, don’t start looking all depressed! Your crazy headgear isn’t what I wanted to talk about anyway.” Cait Sith hopped down to the ground, taking a few steps towards Cloud. “Now, let’s get straight to the point then! I was just doing my duty as a good friend by checking up on your lovey-dovey-romance situation ya got goin’ on here!”

Cloud immediately felt his face plates heat up. “M-My…romance…?”

Cait Sith nodded emphatically. “Exactly! Have you convinced that special someone to fall in love with you yet?”

“I—” Cloud started but then closed his mouth, shifting his gaze to the side. Cait Sith stared at Cloud in confusion as the robot remained silent for a few more seconds then finally spoke in a soft, subdued voice. “No…I haven’t.”

Cait Sith frowned, folding his arms thoughtfully. “Ah now that’s no good! What’s the hold up, Cloud?”

Cloud shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is that Zack…is that I’m not Zack’s special person. I don’t know how to get him to understand…I’ve even watched some of Aerith’s romantic movies to see what sort of things people do to get their own special person, but….” Cloud lowered his head. “But…”

Cait Sith tilted his head. “But…what?”

“But then I realized....all those movies and shows are about humans falling in love with each other.” Cloud unconsciously brushed a hand over his chest, where his scars were hidden underneath his clothing. “And I’m not. I’m not human. So Zack might not—”

“Well, I guess there’s no denyin’ that you’re not a human bein’, Cloud. But there’s no reason to get all depressed over it!” Cait Sith tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Well if those movies and such are dead ends, why not try some books? I’m sure there’s got to be something about humans fallin’ in love with non-human things somewhere out there!”

Cloud looked at Cait Sith thoughtfully. “Books? I hadn’t thought of that…”

“Ach, kids these days! Always payin’ attention to the T.V. and not somethin’ like a good book. And you don’t even have to take them from a specific person, just head on down to the library and give the romance section a good peruse!”

***

 _The library…Maybe something there will tell me how I can be Zack’s special someone…_ Cloud paused in front of the mirror, adjusting the hat so that it was completely covering his ear pieces. _Maybe it will tell me that something not human can be a human’s special someone._

“Hopefully people won’t ask me to take my hat off inside.” Cloud murmured as he tied a scarf around his neck, doing his best to make his face plates less visible. “Though it would be suspicious to be covering my face inside too…” Cloud sighed lightly, hoping most people in the library would be too busy minding their own business to look closely at his face.

_If only I didn’t look like this…_

Shaking off the sudden constriction in his chest, Cloud headed down the stairs and outside into the snow. He made sure not to take any shortcuts through alleyways like Zack had warned him. Even so, he kept glancing over his shoulder and scanning the crowd to make sure that he wasn’t being followed by anything else like Reno.

He didn’t want to fight, but he would if he had to.

Luckily, Cloud managed to get to the library without incident. To his relief, it didn’t seem as if there were that many people there and the people that he did see looked to be too involved in their reading to pay him any attention.

Cloud began to take in his surroundings as he nervously unwrapped his scarf. He had never imagined that something like a library would be this huge or intimidating-looking. There were stacks of books that seemed to go on for miles with small signs like “Fiction” and “Biography”. Cloud had no idea how he was supposed to find what he wanted.

“Do you need help with something, young man?”

Cloud whirled around to face voice from behind him, which revealed an old man with balding, grey hair and square glasses slid down to the bottom of his nose. 

“I-I…um…” Cloud looked between the man and his scarf, debating between wrapping the scarf around his face again to hide his face plates or trying to just play it cool. “I-I was just looking for, uh—…”

The old man chuckled, pushing the glasses slightly higher on his nose. “Well, I didn’t mean to startle you so much. But you don’t have to worry, I’m one of the librarians here so it’s my job to help find whatever book you’re looking for. Even if you’re just browsing, I can help point you in the right direction.” 

The librarian folded his hands behind his back, his eyes drifting up to Cloud’s face plates. Cloud’s stomach dropped as he waited for the man to kick him out of the library for being a humanoid robot but the old man only smiled expectantly.

 _Does he not notice…?_ Cloud’s eyes focused on the librarian’s glasses, observing their thickness and width. _Maybe he can’t really see my face all that clearly._ Cloud felt his body relax slightly. _Maybe that will make this easier._

“Actually…” Cloud started. “I was kind of looking for a specific…romance genre, I think.”

The librarian raised his eyebrow in amusement. “Oh, romance? Well we do have an entire romance section over—”

“S-Specifically…Romances between…” Cloud felt himself cringe in embarrassment. Even if the librarian seemed nice enough, he might think this sort of request was more than a little odd. “Between humans and…non-humans?” He stopped himself before saying ‘Robots’, at least.

The librarian peered at him for a few seconds in silence, making Cloud feel as if he wanted to become one with the floor or the wall. Hiding behind those bookshelves was always an option too, or just running out the door…

“Humans and non-humans, huh…” The librarian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve got to say that’s the first time I’ve heard something like that young man…What’s got you interested in that particular topic?”

Cloud immediately looked away in response. “I-…”

“Never mind, never mind.” The old man smiled gently. “Well, I’ll do my job as best as I can to help you.” He looked around the library thoughtfully. “Well…Hm.” The librarian suddenly brightened. “I think I may have an idea. Follow me, young man.” With that the librarian turned and began to walk between the stacks of books, Cloud quickly following after him. 

The robot became so absorbed in looking around at the hundreds of books they were passing that he didn’t notice when the librarian stopped and bumped into him.

“Ah, sorry…!” Cloud jumped back slightly but the old man only smiled.

“You haven’t been a library before, have you?” He looked around at the books. “There is quite a lot to look at. Once you’ve found what you’re looking for, I hope you come back just to browse as well.”

Cloud nodded. “I…think I will.” Once Cloud got over his initial nervousness of drawing attention to himself, he began to enjoy the quiet atmosphere of the library. Everyone seemed to be either minding their own business or interested in helping him, like the librarian.  
Plus with so many books, he could learn even more about human culture and history.

“All right then, here we go.” The librarian ran his finger along the spines of several books before stopping and pulling out two rather old looking ones. “We’ve got a nice collection of fairy tales that might have what you need.”

Cloud blinked. “Fairy…tales?” 

“Well, they might be aimed at the younger set, but I still think they’re worth reading.” The old man didn’t seem to realize that Cloud didn’t even know what ‘fairy tales’ were supposed to be in the first place, as he simply smiled and handed them off to the confused-looking robot. “Feel free to have a seat and read them wherever you like.”

Cloud murmured a quiet ‘Thank you’ before setting off to the most abandoned-looking table he could find. He glanced over his shoulder a few more times to make sure no one was staring at him or trying to sit near him. Seeing that he was completely alone, Cloud let out a small sigh of relief and cracked open the first book.

 _‘Fairy Tales From Around the World’, huh…_ Cloud read the title and description. _It looks like it’s filled with different made-up stories. Will I really find something in here?_

Cloud skimmed the first few stories, most of which involved talking animals, until the title of one caught his attention.

_‘Beauty and the Beast’…Maybe this has something besides talking animals in it._

**There was once a very rich merchant, who had six children, three sons, and three daughters…**

Cloud continued reading, interested by the presence of human characters. The character of Beauty even reminded him of Zack a little bit, with how kind and willing to sacrifice herself she was. Cloud was sure that if Angeal was ever in danger of being eaten by a beast, Zack wouldn’t hesitate to take his place.

He found himself paying even more attention as the story continued on, now with the beast introducing himself to Beauty.

**"No," replied the Beast, "you alone are mistress here; you need only bid me gone, if my presence is troublesome, and I will immediately withdraw. But, tell me, do not you think me very ugly?"**

**"That is true," said Beauty, "for I cannot tell a lie, but I believe you are very good natured."**

_Even though the beast doesn’t look human, she still sees good in him…_ Cloud thought, reaching up to pull the hat farther down his head to make sure his ear pieces were covered. _I know how I look to some people. I’ve seen the way they stare at my ears or my face or my legs…_ Cloud smiled lightly. _But Zack’s never said anything bad about them._

**"Eat then, Beauty," said the monster, "and endeavor to amuse yourself in your palace, for everything here is yours, and I should be very uneasy, if you were not happy."**

**"You are very obliging," answered Beauty, "I own I am pleased with your kindness, and when I consider that, your deformity scarce appears."**

**"Yes, yes," said the Beast, "my heart is good, but still I am a monster."**

Cloud began to frown as the story took a sadder turn: Beauty left to visit her father and once she returned, she found the Beast was near death.

 _He thought that she had abandoned him so he refused to eat anything?_ Cloud glanced away from the pages for a moment. _If Zack abandoned me…I wonder how that would feel._

**"No, dear Beast," said Beauty, "you must not die. Live to be my husband; from this moment I give you my hand, and swear to be none but yours. Alas! I thought I had only a friendship for you, but the grief I now feel convinces me, that I cannot live without you."**

A hopeful smile began to appear on Cloud’s face. _If she could feel that way about a beast, then maybe Zack could—_

These thoughts jolted to a halt as, suddenly, the beast was transformed back from something ugly and inhuman to a handsome prince. _…What?_

Cloud read the last few sentences again, then again. After confirming that it was true he quickly closed the book, a deep frown on his face. 

_If Zack tells me he loves me, it’s not like I’ll be able to turn into a human. Was that the only way they were going to be happy? If that’s the case, then…_ Cloud quickly shook his head to rid himself of the depressing thoughts. _No, I just…have to keep looking, that’s all._

Eventually, Cloud opened up the next book and began to scan the pages even faster than before. The next few romantic stories that he found were just as disappointing as the last, with each one either being between two humans or a human and some kind of animal that was actually a human in disguise. Cloud had begun to get hopeful at the story involving a frog but, unfortunately, that ended up with a kiss and a quick transformation back into a handsome prince.

Cloud felt himself getting more and more frustrated as he continued.

_Isn’t there anything at all?!_

Finally, Cloud began reading the very last story in the book: The Little Mermaid.

**Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it… There dwell the Sea King and his subjects.**

_Maybe…this will have something…_

**They were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail.**

_I see…She looks human except for her legs._ Cloud glanced down at the tips of his metal feet. _I think I can understand that._

The story continued, with the mermaid wishing to see the surface above the ocean, to see what the cities and towns and humans were like. Finally, she got her chance, and when she visited the surface above the ocean she saw something wonderful.

**The ship itself was so brightly illuminated that all the people, and even the smallest rope, could be distinctly and plainly seen. And how handsome the young prince looked, as he pressed the hands of all present and smiled at them, while the music resounded through the clear night air. It was very late; yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship, or from the beautiful prince.**

Cloud was completely involved in the story at this point and felt a sense of happiness and relief when the mermaid was able to save her prince from drowning in the ocean. _That’s good, right? She was able to save him…_

The story went on with descriptions of how the mermaid began to watch and admire the prince from afar, falling deeper and deeper in love with him. Cloud felt a painful constriction in his chest, though he wasn’t sure what was causing it since he didn’t really have a “heart” like humans did. 

_Maybe it’s because I can understand how she feels._ Cloud thought sadly. _She loves him so much but he doesn’t know…Even if Zack at least knows who I am and can talk to me, sometimes it feels like I’m just watching him out of sight, where he can’t notice._

**“If human beings are not drowned,” asked the little mermaid, “can they live forever? do they never die as we do here in the sea?”  
“Yes,” replied the old lady, “they must also die, and their term of life is even shorter than ours. We sometimes live to three hundred years, but when we cease to exist here we only become the foam on the surface of the water, and we have not even a grave down here of those we love. We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; but, like the green sea-weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more. Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars. As we rise out of the water, and behold all the land of the earth, so do they rise to unknown and glorious regions which we shall never see.”**

Cloud felt a sense of dread spread throughout his body. How long did robots live? Would it be the same amount of time as human life spans, less than 100 years? No, the more he thought about it, the less likely that seemed. Robots didn’t age and he had seen some humanoid models that were being sold that came with warranties in the 70 and 80 year range. What if he lived to be 300 years old, or more, like these mermaids?

 _Then I’ll outlive Zack by…a lot._ Cloud slumped. _Zack’ll die and I’ll be alone…_

_Plus, if humans have souls that let them go somewhere else after they die…What will happen to me? I can’t have a soul, right?_

The story continued and Cloud read on, even as his feelings of hopelessness increased the more he read on. The mermaid wanted a human soul and the love of the prince and so went to a sea witch to get her wish to come true.

**“…Your tail will then disappear, and shrink up into what mankind calls legs, and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you…If you will bear all this, I will help you.”**

_If I could look more human…If that would make Zack love me…_

**“Yes, I will,” said the little princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and the immortal soul.**

**“But think again,” said the witch; “for when once your shape has become like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid. You will never return through the water to your sisters, or to your father’s palace again; and if you do not win the love of the prince, so that he is willing to forget his father and mother for your sake, and to love you with his whole soul, and allow the priest to join your hands that you may be man and wife, then you will never have an immortal soul. The first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will become foam on the crest of the waves.”**

Cloud knew, that if he had been in the same position, he would have agreed to the ridiculous and painful terms of the bargain. He knew how badly the mermaid wanted to get a human soul, how desperately she must have wanted the prince to love her.

At first, despite the mermaid’s excruciating pain, it seemed as if things would turn out all right at first. Cloud began to feel hopeful again. Even the prince didn’t recognize her as the person who saved his life, it still seemed like he cared for her.

_Then maybe, Zack can…_

**“I must travel,” he had said to her; “I must see this beautiful princess; my parents desire it; but they will not oblige me to bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her; she is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple, whom you resemble. If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you, my dumb foundling, with those expressive eyes.” And then he kissed her rosy mouth, played with her long waving hair, and laid his head on her heart, while she dreamed of human happiness and an immortal soul.**

_Maybe I could be Zack’s special someone, then._

**At last she came. Then the little mermaid, who was very anxious to see whether she was really beautiful, was obliged to acknowledge that she had never seen a more perfect vision of beauty. Her skin was delicately fair, and beneath her long dark eye-lashes her laughing blue eyes shone with truth and purity.**

Cloud felt his body begin to stiffen. _No…_

**“It was you,” said the prince, “who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach,” and he folded his blushing bride in his arms. “Oh, I am too happy,” said he to the little mermaid; “my fondest hopes are all fulfilled. You will rejoice at my happiness; for your devotion to me is great and sincere.”**

Cloud felt as if he was having trouble turning the final page, his fingers were trembling so much. He suddenly imagined Zack coming back to the apartment with a pretty girl or handsome man, telling Cloud all about how they were to be married and how happy he was sure Cloud would be, that he had found his happiness.

**The little mermaid kissed his hand, and felt as if her heart were already broken. His wedding morning would bring death to her, and she would change into the foam of the sea.**

_Zack will find someone else, won’t he?_

The little mermaid was given a chance to kill the prince, who had so cruelly ignored her feelings, and obtain a soul that way. But she couldn’t do it and Cloud completely understood. After all, it wasn’t really the prince’s fault either…He didn’t know about the mermaid’s feelings. But that didn’t matter.

_It doesn’t matter._

Cloud finished the story, half paying attention. The mermaid was able to become a “daughter of the air” and live on instead of becoming sea foam, but that did nothing to sweeten the bitter taste of the ending.

Cloud looked down at his hands, which were still trembling. He suddenly felt cold and wrapped his arms around himself, feeling his whole body beginning to shake.

 _It doesn’t matter…It’s impossible. It’s impossible, isn’t it?_ Cloud shut his eyes tightly. _Zack will never feel the same way. He’ll find another human to be with, one that he’s able to share his life with normally. One that doesn’t have metal scars on their chest, one that has normal human legs. And I—…_ Cloud opened his eyes, staring down at book cover. _I’ll be left behind. Whether it’s now or later…I’ll be left behind._

Cloud quickly pulled his scarf back out of his jacket pocket, haphazardly wrapping it around his face.

_It’s impossible…_

He stood up from the table so hastily that the chair fell onto the floor with a loud crashing sound. Cloud didn’t care if people were staring at him now, he just had to leave.

“Is everything okay?” The librarian tried to ask as Cloud hurried past.

“I—” Cloud didn’t dare raise his face. His voice was suddenly thick sounding and it felt hard to talk. “Sorry.” He whispered, barely able to keep his voice even. “Good bye.”

Before the librarian could ask anything else Cloud hurried out the door and into the snow, walking as fast as he could. He was sure that he ran into a few people on the way back to the shop, since he kept his head down the entire way.

_It’s impossible, it’s impossible…_

He didn’t want to talk to anyone. He didn’t want to see anyone.

Cloud didn’t completely register that he was home, even when he arrived at that familiar door and threw it open and just as quickly slamming it behind him, hurriedly pulling off his hat and scarf.

He felt dizzy, his eyes were stinging and it felt hard to breathe as he forced himself to climb the stairs to the apartment. 

Cloud wished he knew what was happening to his body. He wished Zack were here so he could ask him…

 _Zack…_

The image of Zack’s smiling face flashed through Cloud’s mind, memories from when he first woke up and those beautiful eyes were the first things that he saw. Memories of his time with Zack that had once brought him comfort were now bringing him nothing but feelings of loneliness and regret.

_“You’re awake! Holy crap wait until Angeal sees this!”_

_“There, see? Everything’s okay.”_

_“Well who cares what you think? It only matters if he likes it! So, what do you think? How does the name ‘Cloud” sound to you? Is that what your name to be?”_

“Zack…” Cloud took a shuddery breath. He wondered if he would feel the same way the mermaid felt when Zack would begin to love someone else. Would he feel like he was dying?

“Zack…!” Without thinking, Cloud hit the wall in frustration, causing the entire thing to shudder. The top shelf, which was holding most of Cloud’s flower collection, came lose and slid forward, sending the pots flying to and shattering on the ground before Cloud realized what happened. 

Cloud let out a cry of surprise, falling to his knees next to the ruined plants. He remembered Aerith had told him how important it was to keep flowers safe in the ground or in a pot, how they would die without any water or nutrition.

“Oh no…no, no…” _I killed them. Even though I tried to take care of them, I still—_

Cloud buried his face in his hands, the broken flower pots serving as the final crack in his already fragile emotional state. His breathing grew shallow and fast and his vision began to get fuzzy. He didn’t know what was happening. Was he dying? He felt something hot and wet running out of his eyes and onto his cheeks and realized what it was.

He was crying, but how? He had no idea robots could even cry. How was this happening? And how could he make himself stop?

His confusion, terror, heartbreak and loneliness all came crashing down at once. Cloud continued to sob, even as he tried to hold back the cries escaping from his mouth.

He could never become Zack’s “special someone”.


	15. Gear 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reeve, is Cloud able to...

_“You treated him like a human being”_

Zack stared at Reeve in silence, unsure of how to react or what to say in return. He had never thought too deeply about how he treated Cloud, or that he was doing anything special in the way he acted towards him. 

“Isn’t that—” Zack started then broke off, folding his arms and looking to the side with a puzzled expression. “Isn’t that normal? I mean…how else would I treat him?”

“Well…” Reeve glanced to the side with a wistful expression. “As much as I try and act as if I was in the right and Hojo in the wrong, we both treated him the same: as an experiment. Though Hojo obviously treated him like a failed experiment that refused to obey his commands.” Zack looked back at Reeve with a frown. “Either way, he was treated like he couldn’t feel joy, pain or loss to the same extent as a human being.”

“To the same extent…?”

“Yes. The fact that Cloud’s ability to “feel” emotions was programmed into his AI by myself, as opposed to him being “born” with it, colored my perceptions of how he reacted to things.” Reeve shook his head. “Unfortunately, my conceit brought out the worst of me and Cloud suffered for it.”

“So Cloud—” Zack asked hesitantly, feeling as if he was going to immediately regret bringing this up. “Cloud can actually **feel** and understand emotions, right? I mean, at first it was kind of like he was a blank slate and was copying stuff I was doing or said. But now he’s…I mean he’s definitely got his own personality and his own way of reacting to stuff.” Zack added the last part quickly, as if to convince himself. 

“Hm, well, he would obviously need to learn different behaviors and expressions by copying at first. That’s only natural”

“So I mean, stuff like…” _Why am I asking this?_ “Something like...”

Reeve tilted his head curiously. “Something like what?”

_Come on, you’ve got the guy who created Cloud right in front of you Zack, who else could you ask about this and get a straight answer? I could ask him once and for all whether or not Cloud can actually love another person just like…_ Zack seemed to deflate slightly. _..Just like I do._

“I…” Zack turned his gaze from Reeve’s curious one. “Nevermind.”

_I can’t ask him._

“Well…” Reeve sat back in his chair, studying Zack. “If you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to answer them at a later time. Unfortunately my time before I have to go back to my post in the lab is short but I’ll be in touch.”

Zack looked back at Reeve, frowning suspiciously. “Yeah? And how am I supposed to get in contact with you? Your email and phone number never show up!”

“A necessary precaution, I assure you.” Reeve pointed at Zack’s pocket. “Though now you might find it a bit easier to get ahold of me, if you check your contacts.” 

Zack blinked then reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. “My contacts?” He flipped open the phone and quickly scrolled through his contacts list, pausing when he got to the first contact under the “R” section: A contact simply listed as ‘RT’. Zack looked back up at Reeve with a puzzled expression. “Is this your— How did it get in my phone?!”

Reeve merely smirked in response, obviously pleased with himself. “Well, it’s there now, and that’s what matters. But I would ask that you try messaging me first before you try and call me. I’m not supposed to really know you exist, after all, or that you’re in possession of certain government property.” Reeve held up a hand just as Zack was about to speak. “And don’t worry, any message you send me will automatically go to a folder hidden underneath the spam files, just in case Hojo would be gauche enough to try and glance at my phone.”

“Reeve, I--”

“You don’t have to say anything, Zack.” Reeve folded his arms. “I think you’ll be all right from the government trying to chase you down for a while, at least. I’ve managed to misdirect any information they might have on Cloud’s general location and sightings. Although…” Reeve seemed to become lost in his own thoughts. “It seems like it’s been a bit too easy to misdirect them lately. Like they’re concentrating on something else…” Before Zack could question this any further, Reeve looked back at him with a (slightly fake looking) smile. “Either way, message me with any more questions you might have Zack. I’ll answer as best I can.”

He stood up and offered his hand out to Zack, who stared at it with a slightly unsure expression before smiling and taking the other’s hand warmly and giving it a firm shake. “Got it. Thanks Reeve…For everything.”

“Oh, and Zack…” Reeve called out just as Zack got to the door. “If you have any other pictures of Cloud having a…normal life.” Reeve gave a light smile, more sincere than his previous one. “I’d like to see them.”

Zack stared in surprise then grinned and gave a thumbs up. “You got it!”

***

Zack intended to head straight home after leaving the warehouse. Despite his intentions, however, he found himself wandering aimlessly throughout the city, deep in thought.

_So the government seems too distracted to send more killer robots after Cloud, huh…Hope it stays that way. It would be nice not to have that to worry about._ Zack sighed lightly, watching his breath freeze in the chilly air. _But that’s definitely not the only thing on my mind. Shit! Why the hell didn’t I ask Reeve when I had the chance?! I could have asked if Cloud could understand or even really “fell” love. Why didn’t I just ask…?!_

Zack sped up his pace in frustration but then stopped. “Guess there’s no getting around it.” Zack sighed, sinking down into a nearby bench and putting his head in his hands. “I was scared, huh…”

_Scared for him to say ‘No’ and for that to be it. I mean, who would know better than the guy who built him…?_

Zack let out another long sigh, leaning his head back and staring up at the few lazy snowflakes that drifted down from the sky. 

_What am I gonna do…_ Zack closed his eyes. “It’s almost like I don’t wanna go home and face him.”

“Go home and face who?” A familiar voice sounded from above, causing Zack to open his eyes in surprise. Aerith smiled back down at him, tilting her head slightly. “I didn’t know you liked to hang out on park benches and talk to yourself, Zack”

“Aerith, what—” Zack waited until Aerith moved her head away before sitting up straight. “What are you doing here?!”

Aerith let out a soft laugh. “Well, you are about two blocks from my shop Zack, or did you forget where I lived? I was just doing some Sunday errands before going home and making dinner.” Aerith watched Zack’s expression shift from shock to pensiveness. “Are you okay, Zack? You look like something’s bothering you.”

Zack frowned, feeling his body reflexively tense up. “I’m…” _I can’t say ‘I’m fine’, can I. She’ll see right through that…_ “…I’ve just got a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Mm, well, I can tell that at least.” Without invitation Aerith took a seat next to Zack, brushing some of the snow off her winter coat. “I’m sure you’ll feel better if you talk about it.” Aerith looked at Zack with a smile but there was a look behind her eyes that made Zack feel like he was being backed into a corner. 

There was no escaping this.

“I—” Zack started, swallowing when he suddenly felt his throat go dry. “I’ve kind of been thinking about Cloud a lot, recently…I mean, I just talked to the guy who built him and everything but that’s not really what’s bothering me **now** \--”

Aerith’s eyes widened in shock. “The man who built him? By yourself…!?”

“Yeah, I—”

“Zack, that was dangerous! What if it was someone who wanted to take him back or do experiments on him or—”

Zack flailed slightly. “I know, I know, I know! But that’s not the point. I mean, he’s a nice guy! Either way, that’s not the part I’m worried about…” Zack added under his breath. “Even though it kind of confirmed that Cloud was built as a sentient military weapon…”

“…What?!”

“Never mind, that’s not important right now! What’s important is I—” Zack felt his voice suddenly become caught in his throat as Aerith stared at him in concern. 

“You what, Zack?” Aerith frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I think, I—” Zack started, then stopped, deciding to try another tactic. “I mean, do you think…I mean, Cloud’s a robot, right? So…” Zack smiled, his expression nervous and self-depreciating. “I mean, can he…you think he can feel love?”

For once, Aerith didn’t say anything in response. She just stared at Zack, her eyes widening in realization. The silence put Zack even more on edge as he began to babble on. “I mean, he— He can feel happiness and sadness and everything but when it comes to stuff like loving another person in a…relationship-sense, like dating and everything, would that really be in his programming? And even if it was, wouldn’t it be like an…an imitation of what we feel? What if it’s something that can only really be felt and not put into a code for an AI program, then—”

“Zack, what are you saying?!” Aerith suddenly interrupted, causing Zack to jump slightly. “What’s all of that about an imitation? Of course Cloud can love, just the same as any other person!”

Zack’s eyes widened at hearing Aerith say it so plainly, so confidently, without a shred of doubt. “Aerith…”

“What?” Aerith huffed. “How could you doubt something like that, Zack? I mean, I’ve seen it for myself.” Aerith looked up thoughtfully. “I remember the first time he came and helped me at the shop, how upset he was when he accidentally crushed a few flowers. And you’ve seen how happy he looks whenever he gets a new plant and how keeps asking me the most detailed advice about how to care for them…” She looked back at Zack. “So if he’s able to care about flowers like that, how can there be any doubt that he can love?”

“I—”

“And it’s not just flowers! It’s the alley cats and the children in the neighborhood too. I’ve seen how he interacts with them…How can that be just ‘imitation’?”

Zack looked away, suddenly feeling a wave of shame crash over him. Cloud definitely loved the flowers, the cats, the kids…Nothing about the way he showed his love for them even crossed his mind as being fake. 

Aerith looked down at her hands, pressing the tips of her fingers together reflectively. “I know I don’t know as much about robots and computers as you and Angeal but…an AI is just like a brain, right? And our brains are made up of some things that doctors don’t even understand…So if Cloud can love cats and flowers I’m sure he can love people too.” Aerith leaned over slightly to get Zack to meet her eyes. “And I’m sure he can love thick-headed mechanics.”

Zack leaned away so fast that he nearly fell off the bench, the heat rising up his neck and to his face. “How did you—?!”

“How did I know? Zack, it’s been obvious for a while now.” Aerith’s lips quirked into a teasing smile. “Really really obvious, actually.”

“Well, I-…Jeeze, come on, Aerith!” Zack rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Don’t tease me so much about it. This has been on my mind for a long time, y’know…”

“I know, I know. But you deserve at least a little bit of teasing for being so silly about it.” Aerith smiled gently. “Though I know it’s kind of scary…No one’s had a relationship or anything like that with a humanoid model robot, I’m sure.”

Zack felt his heart sink. “Y-Yeah…”

“But I don’t think that really matters, does it? I haven’t met any other robots like Cloud, either.” Aerith added cheerfully. “So even if it’s never been done before, that doesn’t matter. All that matters is how you and he feel, right?”

Zack rested his hands on the edge of the bench, gripping the wood slightly. “How Cloud feels, huh…”

“Mm-hm!” Aerith nodded. “Though I don’t think you’re going to find that out just by sitting here.” Rather suddenly Aerith set her hands on Zack’s back, shoving him off the bench. “So get going back home and ask!”

“Gah!” Zack stumbled forward, barely saving himself from face planting on the ground. “Hey, watch it…!” His annoyed pout suddenly became thoughtful as Aerith’s words washed over him. “Yeah…I should go home, shouldn’t I?” Zack stood upright, a smile appearing on his face. “Yeah…yeah! I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna go home and ask him how he feels!” Zack ran a hand through his hair, his expression and movements becoming more and more euphoric and relieved. “That’s right…that’s right! What the hell have I been doing here?! This isn’t me…this isn’t me at all! If I sit around thinking about stuff too much it just gets more confusing so…I mean…There’s no way to know just by avoiding it, right? Right!” 

Zack clenched his fists in determination. “Right! Okay! I’m going!” Without another word Zack began to sprint off, getting a good half-yard from Aerith before realizing something and making a U-turn back to her. “Thank you, Aerith!” Zack reached down to pull the smaller girl into a tight bear-hug. “You’re the best!” And with that, Zack sprinted off again.

Aerith laughed, shaking her head slightly as she fixed her hair, which had been tussled in the embrace. “I’d say good luck but…” She watched as Zack’s form disappeared in the distance. “I don’t think you need it.”

***

Zack knew he was an unusually energetic person but even he didn’t remember ever sprinting as fast as he did during those last few blocks to get home. It was as if all the dread, hesitation and doubts had fallen away like a dead weight, making him feel so light that he wondered if he might run too fast and accidentally start flying off into the sky.

“Cloud! Are you home?” Zack slammed the door behind him, pulling off his coat and gloves in one fluid motion. He paused slightly to briefly to listen for a response, glancing around for any sign of the robot. “Wonder if he’s still at the library…” Dusting some of the snow off of his hair, Zack began to run up the stairs to his apartment. He hoped Cloud would be there, so he could tell him as soon as possible. 

_Though it might be nice to have some to think about how I’m gonna say it…_

Zack’s thoughts suddenly came to a halt as he opened the door and revealed a sight that made his heart sink into his stomach. Cloud was sitting on the ground, surrounded by what looked to be half of his plant and flower collection broken and scattered on the ground. Zack’s eyes drifted up to the wall, seeing that the shelves had somehow become slanted and seemed about ready to join the broken vases on the ground.

“Clo-…” Zack began, his throat suddenly closing as Cloud turned to look at him. Tears were rolling down the robot’s cheeks, his entire body trembling as his breathing came in shaky, uneven gasps. Cloud’s eyes widened when he realized Zack was standing there and immediately turned to look away, quickly rubbing at his eyes.

_I had no idea Cloud could cry…_

“Cloud…Cloud what happened? What’s wrong?!” Without thinking, Zack immediately went to the robot’s side, going to pull him into a hug. To his surprise, Cloud stiffened and pulled out of his grasp, looking at him with a terrified, heartbroken expression. 

Zack didn’t know how to react. Cloud had never really tried to pull away from a hug before and he never looked at him like that either: with that lost, anguished look in his eyes. Just what was going on? Was this really all just because of some broken pots?

“Cloud, what—”

“Please, I—” Cloud started, tears beginning to leak out of his eyes again. “Just go away, Zack.” Cloud held his arms close to his chest, curling in on himself slightly. “If you— If you hold me I— I won’t be able to take it.”

Zack stared at the robot, nearly at a complete loss for words. “What? Why…?! Cloud what **happened** here? Is it because of the flowers?” Zack attempted a smile. “It’s not that big of a deal, we can just put ‘em in some bowls and go get some more pots—”

Cloud shook his head quickly. “That’s not it…!” Zack froze, unsure of whether to try and hold Cloud again or leave him alone. There was a tense silence between them that was finally broken by Cloud’s voice, frail and defeated-sounding. “I know it’s impossible now…It’s impossible for me to be Zack’s special someone...to be the person that you love.” Cloud leaned forward slightly, tears dripping down onto his tightly clenched fists. “I’m not human, I’m just…just a weapon. All I’m good for is fighting and killing.” Cloud glanced at the dirt scattered around his legs. “I can’t even take care of flowers properly.” He took a shaky breath. “So…So someday you’ll find a human being to be with, someone who can give you all the things another human can. Things that I can’t do.”

Cloud, taking Zack’s stunned silence to be agreement, turned away from him and hid his face in his hands. “So please go away, Zack…just for a little while.”

Zack’s brain finally seemed to catch up with what he had just heard and actually process it. “Wait…” He started. “Wait just a second.” Zack held up his hand. “Did I hear what I think I just heard? You actually—”

Cloud flinched and curled in on himself more, giving Zack the slightest nod.

“Cloud…” Zack stared in shock for another few moments, his heart beginning to pound faster and harder. “Cloud!” Despite how much his heart hurt at hearing and seeing Cloud look so sad, he couldn’t stop the huge smile from appearing on his face. “What are you talking about? What’s all this about it being impossible?!” Before Cloud could react, Zack practically leapt over to kneel by the robot’s side and pulled him into a tight embrace. “God now I feel like even _more_ of an idiot for sitting on my hands all this time!”

Cloud seemed too shocked to react properly. His body was stiff in Zack’s arms, his hands still clenched into fists at his side. “Z-Zack w-what are you…what are you doing?!” Before Cloud had a chance to pull away, Zack held the other tighter, causing him to stop resisting long enough for Zack to finally get his chance.

“Either way, I’ve heard all I wanna hear about how I’m gonna find someone else or that you’re just a killing machine or whatever.” Zack put his hand on the back of Cloud’s head, gently threading his fingers through the other’s hair. “Why would I go looking for somebody else when I’ve already got you? After all, you’re the one I love.”

Cloud’s body practically went rigid at those final words, which made Zack feel more at peace and relieved than he had ever felt before. Now that Cloud knew, it would be okay.

A few seconds passed and Cloud finally began to breathe again. He pulled away slightly, slowly turning his head to look Zack in the face. His eyes were wide in astonishment and shock and it seemed like he was barely able to get his next few words out. “W-What…” Zack could feel Cloud begin to tremble and it made him want to hold the robot even tighter. “W-What did you…say?” Cloud’s voice faltered and he took a moment to try and collect himself. “You’re not …not…you’re not serious, right?”

Zack frowned slightly “What do you mean ‘I’m not serious’?” 

“I mean you have to be…joking, right?” Cloud’s voice trembled and tears looked ready to start leaking from his eyes again “Are you joking?”

“What? Cloud! Who the hell would joke about that?!” Zack pulled Cloud back into his embrace, finally giving into the desire to nuzzle the robot’s soft, spiky hair. “I love you, Cloud. I don’t care if you’re not fully human…It doesn’t matter. It never mattered to me. It only mattered when I thought I should be thinking about it more, worrying about it more.” Zack pulled his head back slightly to look into Cloud’s. “But it doesn’t. You’re you Cloud…that’s all. And I love you.”

That appeared to finally convince Cloud, who frantically wrapped his arms around Zack’s neck in a tight embrace as if trying to get as close as possible. “Zack…!” Cloud took a shuddery breath, burying his face against Zack’s shoulder. “You really do? Even though I…I can’t ever be human? I don’t think there’s any way to make my legs like yours or my ear pieces or—”

Zack chuckled softly, reaching up to pat the top of Cloud’s head. “Hey, are you having a problem listening to me today? I already said I really did and that that didn’t matter. Okay?” Zack looked to Cloud with a soft smile. “I’ll say it more, if you want. I love you, Cloud.”

Zack could see Cloud’s practically light up at his words and a small, tearful smile began to appear on the robot’s face. “Zack…”

“See? There’s a smile…That’s the kind of face I wanted to see when I told you how I felt.” Zack rested his hand against Cloud’s cheek who leaned into the touch almost immediately and closed his eyes. The sight was almost too adorable for Zack to stand. 

Suddenly, Cloud’s eyes shot open and he sat up straight, face places turning crimson. “Then can we…In all of Aerith’s shows and movies when this happens the two people, they…” Cloud trailed off, head bowed in embarrassment.

Zack tilted his head curiously. “They…what?” _Just how many of those movies did he watch, anyway?_

“They…” Cloud turned to the side, the redness of his faceplates even more apparent. “They k-kiss…”

Zack’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh…Oh! Yeah! Cloud of course…Of course we can!” _Shit I hope that didn’t sound too desperate._

Cloud’s head whipped back towards Zack, his face showing a strong mixture of surprise and excitement. “We can…? Then—” Cloud took a moment to try and recall what happened during these parts of the movies. Even if the characters and stories were different, these moments were always the same. Hesitantly, Cloud moved his face closer to Zack’s, whose face was beginning to flush a light pink color. 

_I think the people would close their eyes here too, right?_ Cloud thought, hoping his hands weren’t shaking too much as he put them on Zack’s shoulders to try and steady them. 

Pushing past his anxiety and panic, Cloud closed his eyes and made to kiss Zack’s lips in a very abrupt motion. Upon hearing Zack make a confused sound, he opened his eyes again to discover, with horror, that he had completely missed and kissed the side of Zack’s mouth instead.

“I think your aim was a little off there.” Zack chuckled, causing Cloud to recoil with embarrassment. Now Zack probably thought he was an idiot and wouldn’t want to try kissing him again. 

“S-Sorry…”

“It’s okay, no sweat. Come here, we can practice.” He replied with a grin. This time, Zack gently cupped Cloud’s face, tilting his head up slightly. Cloud wondered how it was possible to feel so happy and powerless all at once as he stared into Zack’s eyes, keeping his open until just before the other’s lips touched his. Despite Zack’s confident words, Cloud could see the blush creeping down to the human’s neck. It was so cute that Cloud resolved to try and make Zack blush as much as possible from here on.

All of these thoughts suddenly flew out of Cloud’s mind when he felt Zack’s soft lips against his. The touch was so gentle, so loving, that the robot practically chased after those lips when Zack pulled away. He didn’t want it to be over yet.

The two stared into each other’s eyes for a few very long seconds before Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack’s neck. “Zack…” He murmured.

“Y-Yeah?” Zack’s voice cracked slightly, shifting from putting his weight on his knees to sitting back in a cross-legged position as Cloud leaned forward a little. Zack had never seen such an intent look in Cloud’s eyes before and it was making his heart begin to pound a little faster

“Can we practice a little more?”

Zack nodded quickly, feeling his face become even more heated as Cloud kissed his lips again and again, becoming more confident with each attempt.

“H-Hey, if we’re gonna keep doing this, let’s at least get off the floor, okay?” Zack smiled, brushing a piece of hair out of Cloud’s face. “Plus, don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to practice more later…”

Cloud nodded but, instead of standing, held Zack a little tighter. “I just feel like this is all a dream, and in the next second I’ll be out of sleep mode and this will have never happened.”

“Heh, well…” Zack ran his fingers through Cloud’s hair, gently petting the robot’s soft spikes. “It’d be a really good dream if it was. Though I don’t think people usually have the exact same dream.”

Cloud looked hesitant. “So we’re not dreaming?”

“No, we’re not.” Zack grinned up at Cloud, who smiled gently in return. 

“So then this is…real?”

“Yeah”. Zack leaned forward just enough so that their foreheads touched, causing Cloud's smile to grow. “We’re both just really happy.”


	16. Gear 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack adjusts to life with a now romantically-educated robot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the one that's bumping the rating up to "Mature", so be warned.

Zack rarely thought about things ahead of time. He preferred to “live in the moment”, which had served him well (with a few exceptions) until now. 

Zack hadn’t realized how difficult it was going to be to keep the fact that he and Cloud were now together a secret from Angeal. It wasn’t that Zack was that embarrassed about it or thought that it was something they should be ashamed of, of course. Zack just had no idea how Angeal, one of the best robot mechanics he knew, would react to knowing that his apprentice was dating his first-ever solo robot repair project. 

“It’s not that we’ll keep it a secret forever. I mean, I’ve gotta tell him eventually but...let’s just keep it quiet for now, okay? At least during work.” Zack had said, pressing gentle kisses to Cloud’s lips. 

Cloud had looked disheartened for a moment but then quickly hid it as he had leaned his head onto Zack’s chest. “It’s okay. I know most people would probably react badly to it, right?”

Ever since then, he had felt a sense of dread that had refused to leave his mind. How long could he keep this from Angeal? If other people found out, would Angeal lose business because of it? Could he be _arrested_ for dating a robot?

However, those thoughts kept getting shoved further and further into the back of his mind every time he woke up to Cloud nuzzling his neck, telling him it was time to wake up.

Cloud had been extremely shy about physical affection at first. The morning after Zack found Cloud crying among his broken flower pots, Zack awoke to a few gentle (but insistent) pats on the shoulder. When Zack finally got his vision into focus, he saw a very fidgety Cloud leaning over him.

“Cloud…what is it?” Zack yawned.

“I…” Cloud glanced away for a moment then back at him with a blushing, determined expression. “I wanted to kiss you good morning.”

Zack blinked, staring up at the robot in a stunned silence. “…Uh huh?”

Cloud’s face plates turned a deeper shade of red as his lips turned downwards into a slightly pouty frown. “I-I…wanted to ask you if it was okay first. Am I allowed to?”

Zack suddenly felt much more awake. “Huh? O-Of course you can! You don’t have to ask, Cloud.” Zack couldn’t help but smile at the amazed look on Cloud’s face. “It’s not like I min—” He was interrupted mid-sentence as Cloud leaned down for a kiss, placing a hand on his cheek as he did. 

When they finally parted, Zack suddenly felt very warm and ready for the day. 

“So I don’t have to ask every time?” Cloud sat up with a small smile. “Okay then.”

And Cloud only grew bolder from there.

During the next few weeks Zack was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on his work. Whenever Cloud would hand him a tool or a part that he needed, his fingers would linger on Zack’s for a few seconds longer than usual, the robot’s eyes shyly meeting his own. Zack would have to pull himself away before Angeal walked by or a customer came up to ask a question. Or, if the two of them were sitting next to each other to work on something, Zack noticed that Cloud was now sitting so that their legs would bump into each other on occasion.

_This is really testing my will power, here…Come on Zack! You gotta hold it together during work! Be a professional, damn it!_

“Zack?”

“Huh?!” Zack snapped out of his thought and whirled around to face Cloud, who was looking up at him in confusion. “W-What’s wrong? Does Angeal need something?”

Cloud shook his head. “Angeal went home 10 minutes ago. He told us he was leaving and that we could wrap up, remember?”

“Huh?” Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh yeah…heh, I guess that did happen, huh?” 

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Are you feeling okay, Zack?”

“Yeah, of course! I’m great.” _Just distracted as all hell. Especially when you look at me with that cute confused look on your face._

“I already locked the front door and put the ‘Closed’ sign up.” 

“Great, thanks!”

“No customers should be coming in here anymore…” Cloud glanced around the shop then back up at Zack expectantly. “Right?”

Zack felt his heart begin to pound as he recognized the look in Cloud’s face. It was subtle but Zack was getting faster at recognizing it with how often it would suddenly appear in the robot’s expressions. “Y-Yeah…”

“So…” Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack’s neck, moving his face closer towards his. “It’s okay if we do this, right?” Before Zack could reply, Cloud’s lips were on his for a gentle but insistent kiss. 

Zack leaned down into it, moving his hands to the robot’s hips. Once their lips parted he gave Cloud a sheepish grin. “You know, we probably shouldn’t do this down here, even if there is nobody here right now. Dangerous equipment and all that.”

Cloud nodded rather seriously then, in a move that had Zack yelping in surprise, he picked the mechanic up and began to easily carry him up the stairs. 

“Cloud…!” Zack laughed, wrapping his arms around Cloud’s shoulders for balance. “I can walk up the stairs, you know! Then again, I can’t say I don’t appreciate the free ride.” He added teasingly, causing Cloud’s lips to tug into a small smile. 

“It’s another thing I saw couples do in one of Aerith’s movies. I thought it might be fun.” Cloud added, opening the door to their apartment with one hand while supporting Zack with the other. 

_Well I can’t say I don’t like it._ Zack began to feel more heated and slightly fidgety as Cloud carried him over to the bed and gently laid him on it, then moving above him, his hands on either side of Zack’s head. _I actually kinda…really like it._ Zack thought, his eyes drifting upwards to watch Cloud’s expressions. The robot was staring at him tenderly, as if he was trying to memorize Zack’s expressions, just as Zack was trying to memorize his. Without thinking, he reached up to brush his hand against Cloud’s cheek, threading a few strands of hair through his fingertips. 

Cloud put his hand over Zack’s, taking it to his lips and kissing his fingertips. Zack felt a shudder run from his neck all the way down to his waist to…other parts. He swallowed hard, trying to think of something to say to distract his lower half but was quickly silenced as Cloud leaned down for a kiss, his fingers now threaded through Zack’s.

Their kisses until then had been innocent enough, nothing that Zack hadn’t experienced before. Today, however, Zack was surprised to feel Cloud’s tongue softly pressing against his lips. 

“Nh-?” Was Zack’s muffled reply. Though, after a second of thought, his lips parted, allowing Cloud access to his mouth. Cloud’s grip on his hand tightened slightly and Zack let out a soft moan as Cloud’s tongue rolled along his and tentatively explored. 

_Shit…_

Zack tilted his head slightly to try and get a better angle to kiss him back. _It feels too good._

Both of them were obviously inexperienced, judging by how tentative and messy they were being in their kissing, but it was only the fact that he needed to breathe properly that made Zack shift his head slightly to take a gasp of air. Cloud pulled back slightly as well, watching Zack’s face carefully.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice softer than before.

“Y-Yeah, I’m…I’m fine…” _More than fine, actually. Except now…_ Zack shifted his legs slightly, hoping he wasn’t poking Cloud anywhere. _Then again, his legs are made of metal, can he even feel me getting hard?_ “I just…where’d you learn to do that?” _Well I guess Aerith’s movies have people making out in them too, huh?_

Cloud shifted back onto his knees, fidgeting slightly. “Well…”

Zack stared up at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I…went back to the library this weekend, and…”

***

“Well, well, young man, I wasn’t expecting to see you back!” The old librarian came up to Cloud just as he entered the building, tugging on his hat slightly to make sure it was covering up his ear pieces. “Though I have to say, you look to be in better spirits than when I saw you last time.”

“Yeah, I—” Cloud started then looked to the side shyly. “I’m feeling better now”

The librarian clasped his hands together with a warm smile. “Good, good. So what can I help you with today?”

“Oh, I’ll be able to look myself this time. I’m just looking for the romance section.”

The librarian’s eyebrows quirked curiously. “Are you all right with, ah, more ‘normal’ romances this time?”

Cloud nodded quickly, squirming nervously under the inquiring gaze of the librarian. Much to his relief, the old man simply pointed to his right. “It’s that way. Just let me know if you need anything else, all right?” 

Cloud bowed his head slightly. “Yes, thank you.” He murmured before hurriedly walking in the direction pointed, adjusting his hat again as it slipped slightly. _I’m glad he isn’t able to see well, or else he might have noticed by now…_

Once Cloud got to the romance section he began to browse, reading the back of each cover with curiosity before flipping through the first few pages. He got through the first chapter of a couple of thicker books before putting them down with a sigh.

“These are taking too long to get to the parts I need.” He muttered. _How am I supposed to get ideas on how to be romantic with my special person? It’s not like I came programmed with those._

Before he gave up on the whole research idea all together, Cloud’s search lead him to a few thinner paperback books that looked as if they were stuffed in the corners of the bookshelves with the intention of hiding them. Cloud’s eyes drifted to the front cover of the first one, his face plates suddenly flushing as he saw a nearly naked man, hair blowing in the wind, with a woman in a…bathing suit? Cloud wasn’t sure what she was wearing, he just knew he had never seen anyone walking around town in that little clothing.

_This might be helpful…It looks shorter, at least._

More than an hour later, Cloud was absorbed in the fourth of those short novels, each with a cover similar to the first one he tried (though he eventually found one with two guys on the cover). Cloud just couldn’t help himself, really. He kept imagining himself and Zack kissing and then…him touching Zack and then…

***

Zack stared at Cloud incredulously. He didn’t know whether or not to laugh at the image of Cloud sitting in the library reading harlequin romance novels or be touched that Cloud had spent that much time trying to be romantic. Then again, this also answered a question that had been in the back of Zack’s mind for the past week.

“So that…You _do_ feel...So that means you _can_ feel that way about me?” Zack stammered, feeling stupider by the second as Cloud tilted his head in confusion.

“That way…?” 

“I mean, you know…” Zack swallowed. “I just didn’t know if, you know, since you were a robot you could, you know… _want_ me like that, you know?”

Cloud tilted his head lightly before his eyes finally widened in realization. “Oh...” He frowned slightly. “If you didn’t know, why didn’t you just ask me?” Cloud looked to the side, his frown deepening. “You’re still okay with being with me, right? Even though I’m not—”

Zack pulled Cloud’s face down to kiss him before he could say ‘not human’. “Hey, hey, it’s not like that! I love you, Cloud but you gotta admit this is pretty new territory.” This seemed to pacify Cloud as he leaned his head down to nuzzle in the crook of Zack’s neck, though he avoided leaning any of his weight onto his boyfriend to avoid crushing him. “Right?” 

Cloud nodded, closing his eyes as Zack kissed the side of his head. “Yeah.” Cloud glanced over, meeting Zack’s eyes with a more heated expression. “But…I do want you.” He added, his tone lower than before.

Zack’s eyes widened slightly, his heart beating faster at the look behind Cloud’s eyes. “Yeah...?”

Cloud sat up, cupping Zack’s chin and running a thumb along his lips. “Zack…I want to touch you.” Cloud began to fiddle with the edge of Zack’s t-shirt. “Can I?”

Zack felt all the blood in his body run to his face and his crotch. He opened his mouth to say something but it became lost in a choked gasp as he felt goosebumps along his stomach from where Cloud’s fingers were brushing against it. Zack could only close his eyes and nod quickly, hoping that Cloud was able to get the message. 

Luckily, Cloud seemed to understand, as he slowly slipped his hands underneath Zack’s shirt, pushing it up to reveal everything from the neck down. Zack squirmed slightly as Cloud ran his hands along his stomach, tracing the contours of his muscles. He couldn’t stop a small laugh from escaping his lips, causing Cloud to look at him inquisitively.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing…It just kinda tickles.” He gave Cloud a shy grin. “You can keep going though.”

This seemed to encourage Cloud, who looked back at Zack’s exposed stomach with a renewed sense of determination and interest. Zack’s eyes closed reflexively, his head lolling back when Cloud went to kiss at his neck. He jumped slightly, nearly bumping Cloud’s head as the robot’s hands managed to find their way past his belt and onto Zack’s very hard, very clothed erection.

Before he could stop himself, Zack thrust his hips towards Cloud’s hand, gasping softly. “A-ah…C-Cloud…” 

Cloud raised his head slightly, looking straight into Zack’s eyes with an expression that made it impossible for Zack to look away, despite how embarrassed he was. “Do you want me to touch here?” He squeezed his hand slightly for emphasis, pulling another helpless moan from Zack’s lips. 

“I— Ah…!” Zack’s back arched as Cloud began to gently massage and rub his hand along Zack’s crotch. “Y-yeah…”

Zack felt a new wave of embarrassment wash through him as he squirmed more in Cloud’s hand, his body hot and helpless as Cloud began to rub harder. To Zack’s pleasure (and further embarrassment) his underwear now wet with pre-cum, which made the feeling of cloth rubbing against his body feel even better.

He had never gone this far with anyone before. Showing anyone, much less Cloud, this side of himself was so new and awkward that he couldn’t help but move his face away, covering his eyes with the back of his arm. 

“Does it feel good?” Cloud’s voice broke through the wall of embarrassed thoughts running through Zack’s mind. “Zack…?” 

Zack felt the arm hiding his eyes being gently pulled away. Once his eyes readjusted back to the light he saw Cloud looking down at him in concern. 

“I can’t tell if you like it or not if you hide your face.” Cloud tilted his head slightly. “Is it all right if I keep going?”

Zack swallowed hard, though his voice still cracked slightly when he finally managed to get it out. “It feels…It feels good, Cloud.” Zack glanced away slightly. “It’s just kinda embarrassing, you know?” Cloud just stared back in confusion. _Well, I guess he doesn’t know. Maybe he doesn’t get why it would be embarrassing in the first place._

“But…it feels good?” Cloud asked again, moving to undo Zack’s belt. “Do you want me to touch you more?” Even as he finished his question, Cloud had already unbuckled the belt and was now lowering the zipper. “Zack…?”

Zack had to stop himself from hiding his face again as his lower half shifted impatiently. “It— Y-Yeah…Keep going, Cloud…”

Cloud smiled lightly in response to the desired answer and pulled Zack’s pants down to his knees. Zack had to fight against the urge to cover himself up, though that urge quickly disappeared as Cloud’s hand slipped past the waistband of his boxers. 

“Cloud…!” Zack gasped, desperately arching towards the robot’s hand as it curled around his almost painfully hard dick. “Oh god, please…”

“Zack…” Cloud murmured, silencing another helpless moan from Zack with a kiss as he rubbed his fingers from the base to the tip. Even that amount of teasing was almost too much for Zack to bear. 

“Oh, shit…shit…Cloud it feels…Ah!” Zack gasped as Cloud finally seemed to figure out how to get a tight enough grip to move his hand at the same time. “Cloud…Cloud I’m—…!” Zack groaned, his hips thrusting in time with Cloud’s movements, which only seemed to encourage him to go faster. “W-wait…Ah!” 

Zack gripped the covers tightly as he came, shocked at how quickly Cloud had pushed him over the edge. After a few seconds Zack collapsed, gasping for breath as his mind came back down to earth. He glanced down to see Cloud slowly removing his hand from Zack’s boxers, looking at the sticky white substance curiously before wiping it on his pants.

Embarrassed, Zack started to sit up. “Sorry, I—Mmn!” Cloud kissed him deeply, gently pushing him back down onto the bed as he did. Zack inhaled sharply through his nose as Cloud slipped his hands underneath his shirt again, this time moving to pull the whole thing off of Zack’s head. 

Cloud had to pull out of the kiss to do this, finally giving Zack a chance to talk. “Hey, hey…!” Zack laughed, lifting his arms to help him. “I guess this means we’re having a second wind, huh?”

Cloud nodded, gently running a hand along Zack’s cheek. “I want to keep making you feel good, Zack…” Cloud moved to lie down next to Zack, tracing his fingers along his hip as he spoke lowly into his ear. “You can tell me when you want to stop, though.”

The sound of Cloud’s voice sent a shiver down Zack’s spine, goosebumps following along Cloud’s fingers as they danced on his skin. “I’m…definitely not r-ready to stop yet…” Zack could have sworn he saw a small smirk on Cloud’s face just before the robot went to nuzzle at his neck and slowly, teasingly, moved the hand that was on Zack’s hip to in between his thighs. 

Zack whimpered, squeezing his legs together to try and get more contact between his newly formed erection and Cloud’s hand. “Cloud…!”

Cloud kissed Zack again in response as the other squirmed helplessly. “This time…I want to see all of Zack.” He murmured, moving his hand from in between Zack’s legs to unceremoniously pull his boxers down, causing the other to gasp in surprise. “Just don’t try hiding your face again, okay?”

Zack moved his glance from Cloud’s hand to the robot’s face, which was looking at him with such an intense expression of love and desire that Zack thought he might melt right then and there.

_I can’t believe how stupid I was…to even think that Cloud wouldn’t be able to feel love._

Zack continued to stare into Cloud’s eyes as he wrapped his arms around the robot’s neck, pulling him even closer. In that moment, both Cloud and Zack had the exact same thought.

If they could stay this way forever; stay with each other forever, they would be the happiest they could ever be.


	17. For the Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy day out ends in tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter guys. I was having writer's block and a mixture of work and other real life things were keeping me busy. But I have no intention of abandoning this fic, so here's an extra special long chapter for you :D

“R…eunion…”

Zack slowly opened his eyes, the ceiling of his bedroom gradually coming into focus. The sudden shifting of his bed caused by the blonde robot beside him had woken him up pretty quickly, but it was still taking time for him to get his wits about him. Once things were more in focus Zack glanced over to see Cloud tossing his head from side to side as he kept a death-like grip on the sheets. 

“No…Don’t…Get away!”

“Cloud!” Wide awake now, Zack sat up and grabbed Cloud’s shoulders and began to try and shake him awake. “Cloud, wake up! Hey…!”

Much to Zack’s relief, it only took a few shakes before Cloud’s eyes shot open. For a split second, Zack’s heart stopped as he saw the neon green cat-like pupils from before. After Zack had blinked, however, Cloud was staring up at him with wide, terrified, unmistakably blue eyes. 

_Must’ve been imagining it_

“Cloud…” Zack let out a sigh, moving one of hands to gently push Cloud’s bangs from his forehead. “Hey, it’s okay now. Just breathe, all right? I’m here.” Still trembling, Cloud could only nod and allow himself to be pulled into a hug, Zack shifting so that he was lying back down and had Cloud’s head pulled into his chest.

“See?” Zack gently placed the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Cloud’s neck at the back of his head and began to pet at the shorter spikes of hair. “You’re okay.”

“Zack…” Cloud’s voice sounded relieved but so incredibly exhausted that it made Zack’s heart hurt “I’m…I’m sorry”

“Huh?” Zack glanced down at Cloud, who had his face buried against his chest. “For what?”

“I woke you up…I’m sorry.”

“Aw come on, are you seriously worried about that?” Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack and squeezed slightly. “Guess that’s a ‘yes’, huh…” Zack continued petting the other’s hair. “Well, don’t worry about it. You can’t help it that you were having a nightmare, Cloud.”

“Mn…I guess.”

Zack frowned lightly. “What was it? Were you having flashbacks to the labs again, or something?” _It’s been a while since he’s done that, actually…_ Much to his surprise, Cloud quickly shook his head.

“No, this…this was different.” Cloud seemed to curl against Zack even more. “I don’t think this was from anything that actually happened to me yet.”

Zack tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean?”

“It was almost like someone…someone was calling to me.”

“…Calling to you?”

Cloud nodded, letting go of Zack and moving to sit up. Zack watched the robot’s eyes glow quietly in the darkness, illuminating the room in a gentle blue light. They sat quietly for a minute before Cloud finally broke the silence. 

“…Reunion.” Cloud looked down at his hand. “Someone calling to me to be part of a reunion” Cloud frowned. “But I don’t know who was calling me or what the ‘reunion’ is supposed to be about.” The hand that Cloud was staring at suddenly clenched into a fist. “But I knew that I didn’t want it…I knew that I didn’t want to be alone with that voice. I—”

Cloud was interrupted as Zack suddenly hugged him from behind, resting his forehead against Cloud’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay…It was just a dream, right? So don’t worry about it so much.”

Cloud leaned forward slightly, his bangs shielding his eyes. “Just a dream, huh?” He shook his head. “Just like those images I saw of the government labs…That wasn’t ‘just a dream’, Zack.”

Zack frowned lightly, feeling at a loss. Even so, he tightened his grip around the robot. “Cloud…”

“But…” Cloud suddenly turned to look at him, his eyes holding a quiet desperation. “This isn’t a dream, right? You’re really here…” Cloud moved one of his hands to cover Zack’s, squeezing slightly. “Zack.”

Zack nodded. “Of course!” He gave Cloud a little grin, trying to cheer up the robot slightly. “And I’m not gonna go anywhere, okay?”

Much to his relief, a light smile finally appeared on the robot’s pale features and he gave a small nod. “Right.”

Cloud allowed himself to be guided back towards the mattress, Zack lying on his back and Cloud moving to gently rest his head on Zack’s bare chest, right over his heart. Zack knew that, above everything else, Cloud being able to hear his heartbeat was one of the things that calmed him the fastest.

Zack continued to gently pet Cloud’s hair, watching the other’s face as he closed his eyes. Even then he didn’t seem completely relaxed as Zack observed a slight tightening of the robot’s features. 

_Reunion, huh…_

Zack let out a tired sigh, finally c¬losing his eyes and resolving to put off thinking about it until tomorrow. For now, he could just concentrate on trying to fall asleep with the sounds of sirens somewhere in the city, the ticking of the clock in their apartment, and the feeling of Cloud’s soft hair through his fingers and his warm faceplates on his bare chest.

***

“Reunion?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said. I didn’t have any idea what the hell that could mean, though.” Zack was standing behind the shop, one hand in his jacket pocket and the other holding his phone to his ear as he spoke to Reeve. The snow of the Midgar slums, which had turned brown and oily from the roads and overall pollution, had finally melted as winter faded into spring. There was still a slight chill in the air, but it definitely felt nice to be able to stand outside without 3 different layers. 

When Zack had explained to Cloud that, yes, the snow would go away eventually the robot became excited, thinking that that meant there would be flowers and trees blooming like he had seen on TV. Zack had felt sad to have to disappoint him with the news that, since there was no natural plant life or flowers in Midgar, the only difference Cloud would see would be lack of snow. 

The disheartened look in Cloud’s face had motivated Zack to plan a trip on their next day off to go outside the city to see some real nature. The inside of the labs and Midgar had been all the Cloud had ever known and Zack wanted to change that.

“Hm…” Zack could imagine Reeve rubbing his beard thoughtfully. “And you said he heard someone calling to him?”

“Yeah, that’s what he said.”

“Did he say what they sounded like? Was it familiar to him?” 

“I didn’t really think to ask him a whole lotta details. He did say it wasn’t anybody he knew, though.” Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just kinda focused on getting him calmed down and going back to sleep.”

“Mn” Zack could hear the obvious disappointment in his voice. “Well, I guess that probably wouldn’t have helped anyway. It is suspicious, though…”

“What is?” Zack rocked back and forth anxiously, watching a few of the alley cats eat the food that Cloud had left out for them overnight.

“A few weeks ago, I discovered someone had broken into my files and copied almost all of the research and designs from when I built Cloud.”

“What!?” Before he could control his voice, the cats scattered in all different directions. He lowered his voice to a panicked half-whisper.“What do you mean _copied_? Why didn’t you mention that before this, Reeve? That’s kinda important, don’t you think?!”

“Well I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily. After all, it’s not like you wouldn’t have been able to do much about it until I investigated more. Your friend, Kunsel…I actually contacted him about it and asked him to do some snooping for me.”

“What? He didn’t tell me anything about that…”

“I asked him to keep it secret. The less people know about risky investigations, the better, wouldn’t you say?”

Zack frowned. He knew that Reeve had a point but he also didn’t like the idea of the two of them doing things behind his back. It made him feel like a pawn, even if he knew that Kunsel was just trying to do what would keep them out of danger the most.

“So, what did he find out? Unless I’m still not allowed to know.” Zack added irritably.

“Don’t get passive-aggressive now, Zack. I was actually planning on telling you soon. It seems like there’s a section of our building that was recently renovated.”

Zack blinked. “That’s it? That there’s some cleanup duty going on?”

Reeve let out a derisive chuckle. “If only it were that simple. Normal renovations don’t usually involve changing the entire security access to the floor, to the point that it’s so limited that I can’t even access it.”

Zack’s eyes widened slightly. “You can’t? Then…who?”

“Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to access that information. But Kunsel did say that he had seen a few people going into the elevator and stopping at that exact floor certain times through the day.”

“People? Like who?”

Reeve’s pause before he spoke put Zack even more on edge. “Hojo and a few of his hand picked assistants.”

Zack nearly dropped the phone, barely able to keep himself from yelling into it again. “H-Hojo?!” Zack’s mind flashed back to when he was hiding in the government building with Kunsel, hearing that nasty voice right outside the door and then to those tapes, to that man’s horrible grin as he tortured Cloud. Zack’s grip on the phone tightened, his voice audibly darkening. “…What the hell is he doing up there, Reeve.”

“Nothing good, I can imagine. If I’d hazard a guess, it has to do with the fact that _someone_ copied Cloud’s AI and body designs. And with Cloud suddenly having odd dreams, visions, or whatever the AI equivalent is…I have a bad feeling.”

“Then—”

“Just stay on your toes for now, Zack. There’s no obvious reason for alarm. Hopefully I can find out what Hojo is up to and stop him before he gets any further. I’ll speak with you when I know more.”

And with that, Reeve hung up. Zack blinked in surprise, staring at his phone as if Reeve could see his offended expression. “Well I’ll be damned.” Sighing in frustration, Zack snapped his phone shut and pocketed it. “He could at least say ‘Goodbye’ like a normal person instead of trying to act all cool about it.” He rubbed the back of his neck, staring up at the sky. 

“Nothing to worry about for now, huh…” He glanced down at the cats, who had gotten over their initial scare and were now gobbling up the food left up for them again. “It’d be nice if I could believe that all the way.”

***

As the weeks went on, Zack tried stay on alert like Reeve had suggested but kept seeing less and less reason for it. The days went by normally: Angeal would scold him about being distracted at work then he and Cloud would visit Aerith’s shop, their walk usually interrupted by Cloud stopping to pet a stray cat or talk with one of the neighborhood kids. He and Kunsel also had time for a 2-minute argument over Kunsel keeping information from him, which Kunsel easily won by pointing out how many things Zack had kept from him. 

“Besides, I was gonna tell you that stuff soon, Zack. I just wanted to have a better picture of what was going on.”

“I guess…You still don’t have any idea, huh?”

“Well, I did find out that some of the recent engineers who got promoted have been working a lot of overtime lately, on that floor that I can’ get access to. So I mean they’re obviously building something but we can’t really say what. I mean, maybe Reeve’s plans getting stolen was a coincidence?”

Zack wasn’t convinced but, after three weeks, neither Reeve nor Kunsel had any other information and Zack had worried himself into a spiral. Cloud had been able to sense something wrong for a while now, judging by his silent worried glances he shot at Zack’s direction. He had seemed to have had enough that night, as he sat down next to Zack on the couch, his face full of determination.

“Zack.”

“H-Huh?” Zack looked over at the robot, having been snapped out of his thought. “Something wrong, Cloud?”

Cloud frowned lightly. “I’m the one that should be asking you that, Zack.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, I’m—”

“You’re not fine.” Cloud replied flatly. 

Zack stared at Cloud’s slightly irritated, yet concerned, face and wondered where the quiet robot he had found in the scrap yard had gone. It seemed as if Cloud had transitioned from shy and innocent into someone more confident and intuitive without him noticing. Zack wondered if it had something to do with Cloud having slowly regained his memories from his time in the government labs, turning into a mix of his old memory-wiped self and the more tired, hopeless self that Reeve had known. “I—” He paused then glanced away with a self-depreciating smile. “You’re right. I guess I can’t really get anything past you, huh?”

Cloud’s frown deepened and he placed a hand on Zack’s cheek, gently turning his face towards him. It was as if their roles were reversed, with Cloud trying to coax things out of him for once. “What’s wrong, Zack? You’ve seemed really worried ever since—” Cloud paused, his face darkening in concern. “Ever since I had that dream you had to wake me up out of.” 

The two of them stared at each other in silence and eventually, it was Cloud that looked away. “So it is my fault.” He murmured.

“No, no, Cloud! Come on, don’t go blaming yourself like that. I mean, okay…it _is_ related to that, but—”

With that, Zack explained everything he had learned from Reeve and Kunsel, Cloud’s face transitioning from surprise to deep concern and thought. Zack had told Cloud about his meeting with Reeve a short time after it had happened but he could still tell that the robot had mixed feelings about Zack talking with his former creator.

“I see…so that’s what Reeve said.” Cloud seemed to become lost in his own thoughts, his face paling slightly.

Zack tilted his head slightly, leaning towards him. “Cloud, what’s—Woah!” Zack yelped in surprise as Cloud suddenly pushed him down on the couch, hovering over him with a serious expression. Zack felt the blood rush to his face as he stared up him. 

“Zack, I promise…I promise I’ll protect you.” Cloud said. 

Zack blinked in surprise. “What?”

“I’ll protect you.” Cloud repeated, more emphatically this time.

_From what?_

Cloud leaned his face closer to Zack’s. The mechanic could see Cloud’s eyes shift from his own down to his lips and it sent a shudder down his spine.

_Do either of us really know?_

Zack’s eyes closed reflexively as Cloud leaned down for a kiss, resting one of his hands on Zack’s and threading their fingers together.

_Well…at least we’ll be facing it together._

***

After days of nothing but waiting for news from Reeve or Kunsel, Zack finally decided that he needed a break. Well, not just him. It was time he made good on his promise to show Cloud some Spring life outside the city.

Unfortunately Kunsel was doing some overtime on the chosen Sunday, but he encouraged them to go without him anyway, saying something about Zack “looking too serious for his own good” lately. And so he, Cloud and Aerith had all made their way to the main train station early in the morning, preparing to take the hour-long journey to the outskirts of the city and then walk on foot for another half-hour to one of the nicer areas of the countryside. 

The three of them were sitting together on the train with Cloud between Zack and Aerith. Cloud was carrying a basket full of drinks and snacks for the day on his lap and was staring at the people around them in fascination mixed with anxiety. It had gotten to the point where it was too warm for Cloud to wear his knit cap to hide his ears or a scarf to hide his faceplates. However, humanoid-model robots had become slightly more accessible in the months since Zack had originally found Cloud and so the general population was gradually getting more used to seeing people with ear pieces instead of ears. Cloud would still get a few odd stares whenever they went out, however.

“I’m so excited! It’s been so long since I’ve been outside the city.” Aerith swayed happily, her hands on her lap. 

“Yeah, same. I’m glad you actually had some time to take off of work for once, Aerith.” 

“Well, when a girl runs a business all by herself, you don’t get many vacation days”

“Sorry, I haven’t been able to come by recently, Aerith…” Cloud muttered softly, glancing to the side with a slightly guilty expression.

“Don’t be silly, Cloud! It’s not your fault Zack’s working you too hard.” Aerith replied shrewdly.

“Hey, when the heck did this become ‘Gang up on Zack time?” Zack huffed, placing a hand on his hip. 

Aerith giggled and Zack swore that he saw a tiny smile on Cloud’s lips before the robot quickly glanced away. Zack sighed but couldn’t help but smile too before looking out the window. He spent so much time in the Midgar slums or in the heart of the city that even he had forgotten what it was like outside of it. As the train kept going, the buildings began getting further and further apart until finally, on the edge of the city, the smog cleared enough to properly see the sky and the trees and grass on the horizon.

Zack looked over at Cloud, who was listening attentively as Aerith was cheerfully pointing different things out the window to him. He was suddenly struck by a sense of guilt that he hadn’t taken Cloud outside the city before now. 

_He’s out of the lab now but he hasn’t really able to go too far from the shop or around the city on his own that much either._ Zack stared down at his hands. _Doesn’t mean that I’m still keeping him trapped?_

He had wanted to keep an eye on Cloud for his own protection but how did Cloud feel about it? He had never thought to ask.

These questioning thoughts of guilt continued to play in the back of Zack’s mind as they got off the train, though Zack kept a light and airy smile on the outside as he followed along behind Aerith and Cloud. He made sure to at least somewhat keep up with their conversation so it wouldn’t look like he kept getting lost in his own thoughts.

“Wow…” Cloud looked around at the trees as they continued along the worn path. “You can even hear the birds out here too.”

“Right? It’s nice to hear something besides the cars and factories. And the air smells nice too!” Aerith paused, looking at Cloud curiously. “Though…”

“I can smell it too.” Cloud answered her unasked question. “I can’t taste anything, but I can smell it. And you’re right, the air is cleaner out here.” 

“Good! I was worried for a second.” Aerith looked ahead, shielding her eyes with her hand. Her expression brightened as she spotted a familiar sign. “Oh, we’re almost there. Come on, hurry up Zack!” She called before running ahead of the two boys.

“Wait a second, Aerith!” Cloud called, glancing back at Zack quickly before jogging after her. Zack sped up slightly though eventually broke into a run, not wanting to be left behind. 

“Damn, I keep forgetting how fast that girl is sometimes.” He muttered under his breath, slowing down slightly when he spotted Aerith and Cloud standing next to each other in a tree clearing. 

Cloud was staring in awe at what was beyond the clearing: A field full of flowers, every color imaginable. The bright blue sky allowed the sun to shine down unhindered by clouds or smog, making the yellow, greens and reds seem even brighter and more cheerful.

“They must have just all bloomed recently. Isn’t it pretty, Cloud?” Aerith had her hands folded behind her back and was looking at the robot with a bright smile.

Cloud was silent at first, moving his head slowly as if trying to take in the sight of so many different colors. “Yeah…” He murmured, making Aerith smile even brighter.

“Well come on, then! Let’s find a good place to sit down.” Aerith grabbed Cloud by the hand, gently pulling him into the field and towards a small hill. Cloud stumbled a little at first but then regained his balance, his head whipping back and forth, looking as if he was trying to look at everything at once.

Zack felt his heart swell as he watched the two of them. Seeing Cloud look so completely astonished made him feel happy, though the slight guilt from not having shown Cloud something like this before was still there. 

“Come on, slowpoke!” Aerith’s voice startled Zack out of his thoughts and Zack glanced up to see Aerith waving at him from on top of the hill. Cloud had already set their basket down and had taken a seat next to it, his eyes trained on the horizon. 

Zack let out a small laugh. “All right, all right, I’m coming. Hold on a sec.” He called, jogging through the field and up the hill next to them. Aerith had sat down by the time he had gotten there and was pulling out a few bottles of soda out of the basket, along with a sandwich for her and Zack. 

Zack glanced at Cloud. He always felt slightly awkward eating or drinking anything in front of him. It always felt like Cloud was left with nothing to really do besides watch the people around him eat. Much to his relief, however, Cloud was busy inspecting some of the flowers around them, his lips parted slightly in curiosity.

It still amazed Zack that Cloud had originally been built to be a weapon, especially when he saw how gently Cloud would brush his fingers along a flower’s petals or pick up a particularly bright yellow flower to inspect it. 

Zack took a sip of his drink, smiling affectionately as Cloud took a small sniff of the flower. “A few more flowers here than in the apartment, huh?”

Cloud nodded, a small smile appearing on his lips. “Yeah…It’s really nice.” The robot looked at the two of them, the smile growing in size and brightness. “Thank you for bringing me here. I feel…” He paused, his shyness getting the better of him for a moment. “Really at peace here.” He added softly. 

“You’re welcome! I’m just happy that places like this still exist outside the city, even if it does take a bit of walking.”

Cloud looked out towards the flowers again, his eyes and face calm as a gentle breeze passed over them. Zack couldn’t help but admire how beautiful Cloud looked in that moment and had to stop himself from giving Cloud a kiss right in front of Aerith. Instead he gently ruffed the robot’s hair. “Hey, it’s no problem, Cloud. I’m happy that you feel happy”

Cloud looked at him with a smile. “I am.”

After eating, the three of them laid back in the grass, watching the clouds float by. Zack had already made a pun or two at the expense of the robot’s name, which caused the other two to sigh loudly and for Aerith to even give Zack a light punch on his arm.

“Hey, watch the goods!” Zack laughed, rubbing his arm for dramatic effect.

“Oh you’re fine, Zack.” She suddenly sat up, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “You two stay here, okay? I’ve got an idea for a surprise.” 

“A surprise?” Cloud watched Aerith from the ground as she stood up, dusting some of the grass from her head. 

“What is it?” Zack began to sit up as well but then paused when Aerith shot him a pointed look. 

“I’m not telling you until you see it. That’s why it’s a surprise!” With a note of finality she jogged down the hill. “No peaking until I come back!”

“Okay, got it, got it.” Zack replied with a wave and flopped back down on the grass. He snuck a glance at Cloud, who was staring up at the sky again with a thoughtful expression. “…Whatcha thinking?”

Cloud blinked then looked over at Zack. “Nothing really.”

“Hm…” Zack looked back up at the sky again, pausing for a few seconds before speaking again. “Cloud, you know, I—”

Zack could hear the sound of Cloud shifting so that he was on his side and facing him. “What is it, Zack?”

“I’m…” Frustrated, Zack sat up, leaning one arm on his knee. “I’m sorry, Cloud.”

Cloud sat up as well, staring at Zack in surprise. “Sorry? For…what?”

“You’ve been with me all this time, but this is the first time you’ve even gotten to see anything outside the city. All you’ve been seeing is buildings and lights and highways and the slums where we live…” Zack’s fist clenched reflexively. “I’ve been keeping you trapped too, haven’t I? You went from the labs to being stuck in the shop with me and I…I should’ve at least taken you around all the parts of the city or—”

“Zack.” Cloud’s soft, but firm voice interrupted him. “When did I ever say that?”

Hesitantly, Zack peeked over at him. “Well…”

“I haven’t, right?” Cloud frowned lightly. “I’ve never felt trapped living with you, Zack. Ever.”

Zack’s eyes widened slightly. “…Really?”

Cloud nodded. “Even when I didn’t have any memories and barely knew how to walk and talk…You still treated me like a person.” Cloud looked down at his hand. “Not even Reeve, the person who built me, did that.” Zack could sense a hint of bitterness in Cloud’s tone and couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the government engineer, no matter how justified Cloud may have been in his feelings. “The more time I’ve spent with you, the more things I’ve gotten to do…” Cloud looked back at Zack with a grateful smile. “I’ve been happy being able to go to Aerith’s shop or the library, or staying at home to help you and Angeal or…anything, really. As long as I’m with all of you, I’m happy. After all, it’s just like Aerith told me.” He added thoughtfully. “A ‘special someone’ is the person you’re happiest with, right?” 

Zack swallowed hard as he felt unbidden tears well up in his eyes. He quickly looked away, trying to wipe his eyes as quickly as possible and letting out a small laugh. “Aha, well— Y-Yeah, of course! I’m happy spending time with you too. We’ll have to come out here during the Summer too when it’s warmer, and I still haven’t taken you to a movie theater or anything like that yet, so…so…” Zack trailed off as Cloud reached over to wipe a stray tear from his cheek, smiling gently.

“That sounds good, Zack.” 

Zack grinned in response, rubbing his nose with a slightly embarrassed expression. Before he could say anything else, Aerith’s voice called to them from the bottom of the hill. 

“Okay, I’m coming back up! Both of you close your eyes, okay?”

Cloud simply obeyed and closed his eyes while Zack tried the tactic of putting a hand over his eyes and trying to peek through his fingers.

“All right, now— No peaking Zack, I mean it!”

“Okay, okay, jeeze.” Zack sighed and closed his eyes, waiting expectantly. He heard a soft rustling and then felt something on the top of his head. “Aerith, what—”

“All right, open your eyes now!” 

Zack blinked a few times, adjusting to the light again as he reached his hand to the top of his head to feel what had been placed there. “You didn’t put a bug up there did you?”

“Of course not, Zack, now what kind of surprise would that be?” Aerith put her fingertips together, smiling down at the two of them. “Now just look.” 

Zack paused to look over at Cloud, who was staring at him in return. Resting on top of the robot’s head was a crown made of flowers, blue and yellow mixed together in a pattern. “Oh wow, Aerith, that looks really good!” Zack slipped his own crown off his head to see a mixture of blue and red flowers. “Heh, mine looks good too.” Zack slipped the crown back on his head, shooting Cloud a grin. “Right?”

Cloud nodded in response, happily running his fingers along his own crown. “Thank you, Aerith. It looks really nice…I’m sure it looks good on me too.”

“I’m glad you like them!” Aerith beamed. “I’ll show you how to make one the next time you come help me, okay?”

This seemed to please Cloud even more as he nodded again, this time with a slightly brighter smile.

“Hey, now, I can’t exactly see what this looks like on me, so how about we take a picture? Come on Aerith, you gotta be in it too, I’ll just take it like this— There we go!” Cloud scooted close next to Zack as Aerith sat on the other side of the engineer. “All right, everyone smile!” Zack held his phone up at an angle to allow all three of them to be in the picture. Just as he was about to take it he paused, turning instead to Cloud a kiss on his earpiece just as the phone clicked.

Cloud’s eyes widened in surprise and Aerith laughed. “Zack…!” Cloud ducked his head slightly. 

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Zack lowered the phone and looked at the photo, grinning from ear to ear. In the photo, Aerith had her hand on Zack’s shoulder, smiling as she leaned towards him. Cloud’s metal face plates were a perfect shade of pink as Zack kissed his earpiece. 

_I can’t believe he can get so embarrassed over this stuff._ Zack looked over at Cloud, who was still blushing furiously as he rubbed at his earpiece. _He’s still so damn cute._

***

Angeal was sitting in the shop alone, the setting sun giving an orange glow through the windows that enveloped his office. Cloud and Zack were still out on their day trip and Angeal had been perfectly happy to let them go, as it let him catch up on some of the business paperwork and bills that he would end up too distracted to do whenever Zack was there. As much as he was enjoying the relative peace and quiet, however, he was happy to see a new text arrive from his apprentice.

**From: Zack  
We just managed to catch the last train back into town so we’ll be back in a couple hours. Just gotta drop Aerith off at her place.**

Angeal closed his phone and pocketed it, smiling lightly. “Well, I guess I should just be happy he managed to make it in time to catch a train back at all.” He muttered to himself. Angeal leaned back on his office chair, stretching out his arms. “Well, that should be enough office work for today. Too much sitting around isn’t good for someone my age.” Just as Angeal stood up, the sound of the front door slamming open and shut made him pause.

“…Odd.” Angeal frowned. He wasn’t expecting any customers to pick up orders at this hour. Cautiously, Angeal opened the door to his office and stepped out into the front area of the shop.

A man with shoulder-length silver hair was pacing around the shop, showing no hesitation in walking beyond the “No customers allowed” and scanning the whole area with his eyes, as if searching for something.

“I’m sorry, but if you’re here for a repair, I was just about to close.” Angeal called. “You’ll have to come back to—” Angeal trailed off as the man stopped and slowly turned to look at him. Angeal felt his heart begin to race as the man stared at him a pair of bright green eyes, glowing faintly in the dim lighting. At first Angeal thought that he was imagining things but, after a few seconds of staring, he was sure of it: the man’s pupils were cat-like slits, which dilated slightly at the sight of him.

“Where’s Brother?” The man demanded, standing up straight and taking a few steps towards Angeal, who in turn took a slow step backwards, unsure of how fast he would be able to get into his office and grab the stun baton hidden underneath the desk. 

“What?” Angeal’s eyes narrowed as the strange man (or was he even human?) took another step towards him. Now Angeal could see what seemed to be a katana (with two blades?) sheathed at his hip.

The green-eyed man gritted his teeth slightly as his face contorted into a scowl. “I asked you where Brother is!” He shouted, his head whipping from side to side as his eyes seemed to glow even brighter. “I knew it, I could sense him, I was led _here_! So where—” The man hunched over slightly, digging one of his hands into his silver hair. “Where _is_ he!?”

The silver haired man kicked one of the heavy work-benches over with a scream of frustration. Angeal was reminded of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, though judging by the man’s weapon and ability to easily kick aside over 100 lbs of metal like it was nothing, this was obviously something much more dangerous. 

Angeal took another few cautious steps back before breaking out into a full-out run towards his office. If he could at least get something to defend himself with, he might still stand a chance. 

The sound of Angeal’s footsteps snapped the man out of whatever breakdown he was on the verge of having and, just like that, his expression transitioned into a malevolent smile. “No…if I can’t find him…” He put a hand on his sword and unsheathed it in a fluid motion. “ _You’ll_ tell me where he is!”

***

“Ah damn, I didn’t think we’d get back so late…It’s already almost 9 o’clock!” Zack groaned, rubbing the back of his head. He and Cloud were walking side-by-side along the city streets, their path just barely lit by the blinking streetlamps and the glow of the lights from the city buildings.

“Do you think Angeal will be mad?” Cloud looked at Zack curiously.

“Nah, that old guy’s probably asleep by now. He can’t stay up past his bedtime, after all” Zack grinned.

“Well, he also gets up a lot earlier than you, Zack.” Cloud replied slyly. “And he doesn’t need to be dragged out of bed by his personal alarm clock either.”

“Hey, come on now! Plus…” Zack elbowed Cloud gently. “Half the time it’s _someone else’s_ fault I’m so tired in the morning.” Cloud immediately bowed his head as his faceplates turned a deep crimson, making Zack laugh in response. “Just kidding, just kidding. It’s not like I mi—” Zack paused, turning to see that Cloud had suddenly fallen behind him. “…Cloud?” Zack tilted his head slightly when he didn’t get an immediate response. “Something wrong?”

“I’m—” Cloud started, then suddenly sunk down to his knees, gripping his head with both hands. 

“Cloud?!” Zack was at Cloud’s side in a second, leaning down to put a hand on the robot’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?!” 

Zack could see Cloud’s hands trembling as he gripped his head tighter. He let out a groan, shifting one of his hands to his face. “This…” He managed to grit out through clenched teeth. “What’s…happening to me…?!” Zack was on his knees besides Cloud now, his heart feeling like it was pounding out his chest. 

“Cloud! Hey…!” Zack leaned closer to get a better look of his face, his eyes widening in horror as he saw Cloud’s eyes flicker from blue to green then back to blue repeatedly, his pupil extending into that cat-like slit again and again. 

_Shit, not again…not again…_ Images shot through Zack’s mind: Cloud’s cold, green-eyed stare as he fought Reno, not even flinching as he nearly slashed the other robot in half, and then Cloud’s pained screams and hopeless expression as he was chained to the lab wall…

“Cloud!” Without thinking, Zack grabbed Cloud by the shoulders and shook him. “Look at me, Cloud! Don’t lose yourself here, okay?! Focus…! You’re you, and nobody else!” 

Much to Zack’s relief, Cloud took a shuddery breath and collapsed slightly, leaning into Zack’s chest for support. “Z…Zack…” He gasped, his entire body trembling. “I’m—”

“Shh…It’s okay. It’s okay now, Cloud. I’m right here.” Just as Zack was about to comfortingly put a hand on the robot’s head, he suddenly sat up, staring at Zack with wide eyes. 

“Zack, we have to get home. Something’s not right…Something’s not—” Obviously too shaken to even finish his sentence, Cloud still managed to stand up and began to run in the direction of the shop.

“Cloud, hey…! Wait!” Zack called after him. Feeling more confused than before, he ran after Cloud nonetheless, feeling more and more anxious the closer they got to Angeal’s shop. Did this have something to do with the “Reunion” Cloud had been talking about before? And what was it that Cloud was saying “Wasn’t right”? 

Despite Cloud’s head start, the two of them managed to get to the shop at about the same time, both of them staring with increasing anxiety at the obvious: The front door to the shop was carelessly left half open.

“Angeal…why would he…” Zack muttered under his breath. Cloud was silent.

Both Cloud and Zack shared a quick, uneasy glance before Zack slammed the door the rest of the way open. “Angeal!? Angeal, are you still here?!” 

Despite the open door, the store was filled with nothing but darkness and an eerie silence.   
“Angeal— Shit!” Zack nearly tripped over a piece of equipment as he ran inside: A piece of equipment that definitely wasn’t lying there before. Cloud quickly went to turn on the lights though he immediately regretted it afterwards.

The shop was in a complete state of chaos. The front desk had been completely cut in half. Wires were ripped apart and hanging from the ceiling and onto the floor, sparking dangerously. All the shelves were knocked over and most of the other equipment had huge slashes through them or had been completely ripped apart. Zack and Cloud stared at the scene in horror, both standing frozen and unsure of what to do. 

Zack felt his heart stop as he realized what else was wrong: There were splashes of dark red on the walls and the floor. 

“Zack, is that…bloo—”

Before Cloud could finish his sentence, Zack sprinted deeper into the robotics workship, his eyes scanning and desperately hoping not to find who he was looking for. “Angeal!” He screamed urgently. “Angeal, where are you…?!” 

Zack suddenly stopped, his entire body trembling violently at the sight: Angeal was lying on the floor, covered in blood. 

“Angeal…” Zack whispered before he ran to his mentor’s side, falling onto his knees besides him. “Angeal! Angeal…!” He wailed, picking up the upper half of the older man’s body and cradling it to him, soaking his arms and shirt in blood. “Angeal! Angeal! Angeal, please…! No, no no no no…Please no, please no…Angeal, come on! Cloud!!” Zack turned towards the robot, tears streaming down his face and mixing with the stains from Angeal’s blood. “Cloud, call an ambulance!!”

Cloud, who had been standing a few feet away from Zack with a hopelessly lost expression, nodded and quickly accessed the hospital’s number from his internal director as Zack continued to desperately scream for Angeal to please, please wake up.


	18. Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Zack and Cloud try to find ways of dealing with a night of horror, a surprising ally emerges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas surprise! Life has been kinda hellishly busy and writer's block hasn't helped any but this fic is getting finished, damn it.

Cloud hated hospitals. 

Not only did the sterile white walls and the unending sound of beeping remind him of the labs, but he could never stop associating them with Zack having his leg broken after the fight with Reno. At the time, Cloud was sure he wouldn’t be able to feel worse than he did at that time. 

This time was much, much worse.

When Cloud had dragged Zack to the hospital, Zack had remained upbeat despite his obvious pain and kept trying to encourage Cloud and keep his spirits up. This time, there were no encouraging words from Zack. This time, Cloud tried and failed to think of something positive or hopeful to say as Angeal was rushed into the emergency room and the two of them were ushered into the waiting room, the nurses rapidly questioning Zack about the circumstances of the injuries, if he had had any pre-existing conditions, and oh please wait here while I talk to the doctor. 

Any encouragement Cloud had managed to pry from the depths of his mind immediately died on his lips as he saw the mechanic’s tear-stained, hardened eyes, staring straight past the doctor as he came to tell them about how Angeal would need emergency surgery and blood transfusions, rattling off all the issues and risks that Cloud could barely keep track of. 

“Please wait here, we’ll come and get you once anything changes.” 

“What?!” Zack snarled and Cloud reflexively grabbed Zack’s arm before he could do anything more than take an intimidating step towards the doctor. “Like hell I’m just gonna stand around! You’ve gotta at least let me see him…!”

“I understand you’re upset, sir, but as you’re not blood-related—”

“What the hell does that matter?! I’m— We’re like family, you know?! ” Cloud tightened his grip around Zack’s arm, gently pulling him back. A few angry tears slipped down Zack’s cheeks. “Just…Just tell me.” Zack’s voice broke. “You have to tell me. Is he gonna live? He’s not gonna die, right…?!”

The doctor, who had taken a few steps back from Zack, gave him a quick, pitying glance before turning back towards the door. “Unfortunately, he has multiple broken ribs, as well as internal organ damage and with the severe anemia from his other wounds…well…We’ll do everything we can”

With that, the doctor rushed back out, leaving Zack and Cloud alone in the waiting room, save for a few empty chairs. Zack’s strength, which had been running purely on adrenaline, finally gave out as he sunk into the nearest chair. Cloud immediately sat down next to him, feeling at a loss as Zack slowly covered his face with his hands. 

“How…how the hell did this happen?” He choked out. His voice was so soft and pitiful that it made Cloud’s chest hurt. “Why Angeal?! He’s never hurt anyone or done anything to anyone else in his whole life!” Zack bowed his head further, his shoulders trembling with barely suppressed sobs. “Why…”

Seeing Zack like this, knowing that Angeal was fighting for his life in the operating room, was infinitely more painful than the feeling Cloud had experienced when he thought that his love for Zack would always remain unrequited. It was much more painful to have the person you love be this hurt, to know that another person you care about had a good chance of dying…

And that it was all your fault.

“Zack…” Cloud wrapped an arm around Zack’s shoulders, desperately wanting to comfort his love while at the same time knowing that he didn’t feel worthy of even being near Zack right now. “I’m—” His eyes slid to the ground. “It’s…I’m sure it was someone looking for me.” Cloud hesitantly glanced up at Zack. 

Zack tightly clasped his hands together, resting his nose on them. He stared at the wall, his voice coming out tight as he struggled to keep it together. “Yeah…There’s no way anyone human would be able to do that sort of damage.” Zack shook his head, unable to see the flash of pain on Cloud’s face. “The entire shop, it’s just…completely destroyed.” Zack whipped his head towards Cloud, eyes flashing. “You said you felt something right before we got there, right? Was it the same feeling when you had those nightmares?!”

Cloud reeled back slightly then nodded, glancing to the side. “Yeah…It was.”

Zack stared at Cloud in silence for a few moments then glanced down at his hands. “I see.” He muttered.

Cloud didn’t like the way Zack uttered those two words. There was an obvious storm of thoughts swirling through the other’s mind that he wasn’t letting on and Cloud didn’t know how to get the other to open up about them. What could he say? What did he have a right to say, considering this was his fault? What could he do that would help Zack get through this?

Before Cloud could think about it anymore, the door to the waiting room swung open and both Aerith and Kunsel rushed inside, both obviously out of breath.

“Zack!” Before there was time to react, Aerith immediately was kneeling at Zack’s side, pulling him into a hug. Zack made a shocked sound as she did, stiffly keeping his arms at his side. 

“Aerith? What…what are you doing here?”

“We came as soon as we got Cloud’s message.” Kunsel replied instead, slowly taking a seat in the chair at Zack’s other side. 

Aerith pulled away from the hug to stare up in Zack’s eyes with concern. “How’s Angeal? Have you heard anything from the doctors?” Zack looked between Aerith and Kunsel, who in turn were staring at him with anticipation. Cloud clenched his fists reflexively as he saw in Zack’s movements an attempt to compose himself and, much to Cloud’s dismay, plaster an exhausted-looking half smile on his face.

“Ah, well…You know how it is. We’re not really blood related so they’re not giving me a lot to go on” Zack rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a soft laugh that sounded horrible and hollow to Cloud’s ears. “But Angeal’s a tough guy. I’m sure he’ll pull through.”

Both Kunsel and Aerith relaxed slightly in response and Aerith quickly went to give Zack another hug as Kunsel put an encouraging hand on his shoulder. Cloud, who was the only witness to how distraught Zack _actually_ had been a few moments earlier, sat by awkwardly, unsure of how to stop them from falling for Zack’s obvious lie and unable to get rid of the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at how fake Zack’s smile looked.

“But man, seriously…” Kunsel frowned deeply, taking off his hat briefly to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Did whatever it was really wreck the whole shop?”

Zack glanced down at the floor, a faint, hollow smile still lingering on his lips. “…Yeah. I didn’t get a good look but I’m pretty sure at least half of the equipment would have to be replaced with how it was looking.”

“Well I don’t think it’s a good idea to even _get_ a good look at it, not for a while.” Aerith finally had released Zack from the hug and was in the process of pulling another chair in to complete the circle of Cloud, Zack, Kunsel and herself. After she sat down she quickly glanced over her shoulder to make sure that no one else seemed interested in their conversation. Luckily for the four of them, the only other person in the waiting room seemed very interested in the court drama that was currently blaring on the TV in the corner.

“Yeah, there’s no way you’re¬ going back to the shop now, Zack.” Kunsel added in a quiet, but firm tone. 

“But I—”

“No buts, Zack!” Aerith’s reply had such a tone of finality that Zack’s argument died halfway on his lips. “You and Cloud will be walking right into that thing’s trap. I’m sure it’s waiting for you to come back, and then who knows what will happen?” Despite Aerith’s determined expression, her lip trembled slightly at the last sentence. “You two can stay with me, there’s an extra room in my apartment.”

“Or me. I don’t have any extra rooms, but I do have a couch at least.” Kunsel offered. Zack looked between the two of them, obviously at a loss for words. After a moment he stood up, walking a few steps away with his back towards them. Cloud could see him briefly bring a trembling hand up to shield his eyes.

_I want to hug him._ Was his initial thought.

_I don’t deserve to be close to him. This is my fault._ Came a second voice in his head.

Zack took a sharp breath inward, swallowing down any tears that threatened to emerge. “You guys are really…” He placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head with a smile that looked touched, but forced. “Thank you, really. But I can’t.”

Aerith stood up but, just as she was about to respond, Kunsel interrupted. “I know you’re stubborn, Zack, but this isn’t the damn time!” By this time, the only other person in the waiting room had been called into the back, leaving only the empty room to listen to Kunsel’s impassioned plea. “You’re always helping other people, always putting yourself out there…” Kunsel stood up and quickly made his way over to Zack, roughly grabbing his shoulder to try and turn him around. “So why the hell won’t you let yourself be helped when you need it?!”

_**This is your fault.**_ Came a third voice. 

Zack allowed himself to be turned but kept his gaze firmly directed towards the ground. “You guys really don’t get it, do you…” He murmured. “Do you even know what you’re getting yourselves into, anymore? Because Angeal sure didn’t—” Zack gestured towards the door where the doctor had disappeared through, a trembling, bitter smile on his face. “And just look what happened to him!”

_**The Reunion…is the only way to stop this Brother…** _

Cloud put a hand on his head, the scene of Zack, Kunsel and Aerith arguing interspersed with green flashes, someone reaching out to grab him, and then—

His worsening headache was interrupted, surprisingly, by an external blow to the head.

“Oh now, now, now this’a won’t do! This is the time for the forces to come together, not for all of this infighting!”

All three of them immediately stopped and slowly turned to stare at the odd, crown-wearing cat that had suddenly dropped from one of the air vents in the ceiling, right onto Cloud’s head. 

“Ouch—” Cloud shook his head, rubbing at the sore spot where Cait Sith had landed just as the robotic cat hopped off. Despite the soreness, Cloud wasn’t hearing those voices anymore or feeling himself lost in that sea of green, a feeling he was all too grateful to be rid of. Once his eyes regained their focus, he turned his attention to the cat. “Cait Sith…” He mumbled. “What are you doing here?”

Zack regained sense enough to speak, though he seemed barely able to form a complete sentence as Kunsel and Aerith still stared at him, dumbfounded. “Cloud, you...know him?” Zack was having more than a little difficulty trying to comprehend all of these things at once: That a costume-wearing cat had jumped down from the vents, that it could talk, that it seemed to have been spying on them, **and** Cloud seemed to know who it was. 

Cloud nodded in response, seeming much too casual about this whole thing for Kunsel and Aerith’s tastes. “Mm. I’ve known him for a while, actually. He’s a robot, like me.”

“I….see.” Seemed to be the most intelligent thing Zack could come up with.

“Now, like I was sayin— And you lad, dontcha know it’s rude to stare with your mouth open?” He gestured towards Kunsel, who immediately closed his mouth but continued staring. “As I was sayin! Now’s not the time for fighting, it’s the time for teamwork! But, even if he’s got a bad way of sayin’ it, Spikey has a bit of a point. You’ll be no good to Cloud or Zack if you’re dead now, isn’t that right?” Caith Sith hopped up on the chair closest to Kunsel and Aerith. “Which is exactly what’ll happen if that second-rate copy finds you two on the hunt for Cloud!”

Kunsel, Zack and Aerith all exchanged glances in a brief moment of silence before all three of them began to talk at once.

“Hold on a damn second—”

“How do you know about all of this?”

“Just what the hell are you anyway!?”

“Zack, he’s not—”

“A copy?!”

“Just what—”

“Now hold on, hold on, hold on! Not all at once!!” Cait Sith raised his paws, managing to shout loud enough to overpower all of them. “And I don’t have enough time to sit down with an hour long chit-chat, you know. But! I’ll at least give ya a little bit of confidence, Zack, by tellin’ ya Reeve is looking out for you’re well bein’ and he’s looking into options for someplace you two to stay as quick as quick can be!”

Cloud visibly stiffened at this while Zack looked slightly relieved. “…Reeve is? You know him?”

“Ay, in a way. And as for who, or what, exactly did this to your friend there…”

“You said ‘second-rate copy’, right?” Kunsel interrupted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Reeve’s stolen research, would it?”

Cait Sith frowned, seeming cagey about answering the question at first, but then finally relented. “…Ay. It would.” He answered quietly. 

The entire group fell into a tense silence. Cloud could feel everyone looking at him, even as he kept his eyes glued to the ground as a means of escape. 

“But now’s not the time and here’s not the place to go more into it, if ya know what I mean.” Cait Sith murmured quietly. “But don’t worry, once we got more of a ‘home base’ to get to, we can have a nice little chat about it.”

“You’re not just saying that to keep us from asking more questions, are you?” Aerith asked suspiciously, folding her arms as she loomed over the robotic cat.

“Gah! Of course not, of course not, Missy!” Cait Sith flailed. “Scout’s honor!”

“Hm.” Aerith seemed satisfied enough by the response. “Okay…but I’ll be holding you to that promise next time.”

“Ahaha…” He laughed nervously. “I’m sure you will Missy…I’m sure you will.”

Throughout the rest of conversation, Zack kept his eyes on Cloud. The blonde robot, on the other hand, seemed to be doing everything in his power to avoid looking up from the ground and risking making eye contact with him. 

***

Cloud had thought hospitals were bad enough during the daytime but he hadn’t been expecting how much worse they would be at night.

It was eerily quiet, but not quiet enough that you could get a restful sleep or even close your eyes without hearing a half-whispered conversation between two night nurses or the incessant beeping and rolling of carts and other medical equipment up and down the hallway.

Kunsel and Aerith had both obviously planned on trying to stay the night at the hospital with the two of them, but Zack had finally managed to convince them to go home. 

“It’s not gonna be any good if we’re all too dead tired to think tomorrow. You guys go home and get some rest, ok?” Zack had said.

Cloud knew that Zack was being his usual kind self but he also had a sneaking suspicion that Zack was beginning to get exhausted from having his two friends around, for having to act like he was feeling more ok than he was. 

“Ok…But we’ll be back in the morning, okay?” 

“Let us know if there are any updates on Angeal”

“Will do, don’t worry.”

Unfortunately, the last update they had gotten (just after Angeal was out of surgery) was that he was still in critical condition in the ICU. 

“But he’s still alive…” Zack had said quietly. “That’s the best we can hope for right now, right? So…that’s good.”

Cloud hated this. He felt that the more Zack tried to act like he was all right, the more a wall was forming around him, blocking Cloud and everyone else out. Even so, what could Cloud even say? What could he do to make up for this, when this when it was his fault?

_What if he hates me for this?_

Cloud immediately shoved that thought away in disgust. Angeal was hurt, Zack was completely distraught, and **that** was the thing he was worried about? 

Cloud would much rather have Zack hate him than have any of this happening.

Sometime past midnight, the two of them were still in the waiting room, Zack’s exhaustion finally kicking in enough to let him try and doze off on one of the couches. A night nurse had taken pity on the two of them and handed Cloud a few blankets for the night. Cloud covered Zack with both of them before wandering off to try and find a plug to recharge.

Unfortunately, each and every time he would find an unused plug, he would get shooed away by a janitor or a receptionist, telling him this was no place for a humanoid model to blow out the entire hospital’s circuit board.

Eventually Cloud had to give up and circled back around to the waiting room where he had left Zack. He had enough charge for a few more days before things got to a dangerously low level. Besides, the suspicious stares from everyone he passed was starting to get to him. All he wanted to do now was—

“Zack…?” 

Cloud felt a rush of panic as he saw the blankets still there on the couch, but the one who had been underneath them was nowhere to be found. 

_Calm down…I’m sure he just went to get something to drink. Or go to the bathroom…right?_ Cloud tried to tell himself. But the nagging doubts and panic wouldn’t go away and Cloud set off on an increasingly desperate search. This time he didn’t care about the stares he got from doctors, nurses or other patients wandering the halls. He didn’t know why, but he felt like if he didn’t find Zack, something terrible would happen.

_Where is he?!_ After the cafeteria, vending machines and every bathroom in a three floor radius turned up empty, Cloud ran in a desperate haze towards the front entrance and exit. Much to his relief (and fear) he managed to spot the back of Zack’s head just as it disappeared through the glass doors.

“Zack…!” Cloud called after him. Zack flinched slightly but, after a brief pause, kept walking away. 

Cloud paused briefly, unsure if he even had a right to try and stop him.

_It’s my fault this is happening, but…_

Pushing those thoughts aside, Cloud ran out the hospital doors and after him, catching up to the other with ease. Once Cloud got within a few feet of him, Zack finally stopped walking, causing the robot to stop as well.

“Zack…” Even though he had stopped walking, Zack refused to turn around, refused to show Cloud his face. “Zack, what are you doing?” No answer. “Where are you going…?!”

Zack glanced to the side, his fists clenched. “Cloud…” His voice sounded strange. Cloud didn’t like the quiet, hollow tone it had. “Don’t follow me.”

Cloud hesitated for just a moment before taking another step towards the mechanic. “Where are you going, Zack? What are you trying to do?”

“I said don’t follow me Cloud…!” Cloud flinched at the harshness in Zack’s voice. “I’m…” Zack trailed off as he started to walk forward again. “I’m not letting this go. I’m not letting them get away with doing that to Angeal…” Zack snarled.

A flash of terror shot through Cloud’s body. There was no hesitation this time as he ran after Zack, firmly grabbing the other’s arm. “What are you saying, Zack!? Are you trying to get yourself killed…?!”

“Shit— Let go, Cloud! This doesn’t have anything to do with you!” Zack pulled as hard as he could, trying to wrench his arm out of the robot’s grip. “I’m going back and if that thing is waiting for me…Then good! Then I’ll show him just who the hell he messed with!” Zack’s shouts dissolved into grunts as he tried, and failed, to get away from Cloud. He even raised his other arm to try and shove Cloud away, only to have the robot easily grab that wrist with one hand.

“Zack stop! Please!” Zack’s words, the look on his face, they all hurt. But Cloud couldn’t let go. He wouldn’t. 

“What the hell do you know about it?! How would you know how I feel…?!” Zack choked, tears beginning to flow down his cheeks. His movements were becoming more desperate and erratic as he kept trying to pull his wrists away, though he was obviously becoming worn out. “Let me go, Cloud! I have to make them pay!”

“I won’t. I’m not letting you go, Zack.” Cloud tightened his grip slightly for emphasis. “Even if…” 

Cloud didn’t his finish his sentence at first as Zack struggled for another minute in silence, finally giving up, his head bowed as his body heaved with exhausted gasps and barely-suppressed sobs.

“Even if you hate me…” Cloud murmured, slowly letting go of Zack’s wrists and letting his hands fall loosely at his sides. “Even though this is my fault, even if you would have been better off if you had never found me, I’m not letting you get yourself killed.” Cloud looked away, failing to notice Zack staring at him with increasingly horrified expression. “If it makes you feel better, you can take it out on me. But I won’t let you get hurt, even if—”

“…Hate you?” Zack asked hoarsely. “Cloud, you think I… **hate** you?”

Cloud nodded, seeming to curl in on himself more. “It’s my fault…what happened with Angeal.”

“Cloud…” Zack choked back a sob. “I don’t hate you, Cloud! It’s not your fault, I—” Cloud hesitantly looked up at Zack again, his heart clenching painfully as he saw Zack begin to cry again, tears freely flowing down his cheeks. “It’s my fault this happened! If I hadn’t left Angeal alone, if I had just **told** him what was going on in the first place…!” Zack took a shuddery breath. “It’s…my fault…” Zack stumbled forward towards Cloud, looking about ready to fall over with emotional and physical exhaustion. 

“Zack…!” Cloud pulled the other into a tight hug, immediately supporting Zack’s entire weight as Zack practically collapsed onto him.

“It’s my fault, it’s all my fault…!” Zack howled, desperately wrapping his arms around Cloud’s chest and burying his face in his shoulder. “I don’t want him to die!” 

“I know…” Cloud murmured, threading his hand through the strands of hair along Zack’s neck. “But it’s not your fault, Zack…It’s not.” Cloud felt a bit hypocritical telling Zack not to blame himself, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he needed to be there for Zack and to comfort him.

Cloud held Zack like that, letting him cry until he didn’t have any tears left, until he finally released all of the pent up frustration, guilt and sadness that he had been trying to hide up until then. 

Cloud closed his eyes, continuing to gently pet his hand through Zack’s hair.

_I have to protect him._

_No…_ Cloud held Zack a little tighter. _I **will** protect him. No matter what._


End file.
